Peter Joseph Hickel Jr., Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, Alaska 2024

An Anchorage man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Peter Joseph Hickel Jr., 34, used social media to communicate with and attempt to meet an individual that he believed to be a 12-year-old girl for the purpose of sexual contact.

Hickel asked the individual to chat with him on Kik, an encrypted chat platform, and within minutes began asking to meet up with the purported minor.

Hickel was arrested when he arrived at a meeting he arranged with the purported minor.

He pled guilty in May 2024 to one count of Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor.

He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, 15 years of supervised release, and a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

“Mr. Hickel disregarded the norms and laws of our society by attempting to sexually exploit a child on the internet,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska.

“Our office will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute online child sexual exploitation and to apprehend online predators before they can do further harm.”

The FBI and Anchorage Police Department investigated this case as part of the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak/pr/anchorage-man-sentenced-10-years-attempted-enticement-minor