BOSTON - A Worcester man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to attempting to solicit a minor, who was actually an undercover federal agent, to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Timothy Biddy, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct and attempted transfer of obscene images to a minor. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2017.
From October 2016 to November 2016, an undercover federal agent posing as a 13-year-old girl began chatting with Biddy through an online text messaging service. During the communications, Biddy proposed to meet the minor to engage in illicit sexual conduct in Sioux Falls, S.D., and graphically described sexual acts he wished to perform with her. He also sent her a video of himself masturbating. Biddy was arrested in November 2016.
The charge of attempted interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000; the charge of attempted transfer of obscene images to a minor provides for a sentence of 10 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Mathew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Grady of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
