WILKES-BARRE - An Old Forge man who sent sexually explicit messages to a detective whom he believed to be a teenage girl was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison.
Jeffrey Pettinato, 52, was arrested in August 2012 after he was caught up in an online sting set up by the Lackawanna County district attorney's office.
According to court records, the investigation into Mr. Pettinato began in July 2012, when Dickson City police received information he had attempted through Facebook to contact several teenage girls who worked at Five Guys restaurant. Police were also contacted by Mr. Pettinato's wife, who said her daughter saw messages from him on his Facebook account that appeared to have been sent to underage girls.
Lackawanna County Detective Justin Leri obtained permission from one of the victim's parents to pose as the girl. Mr. Pettinato contacted her through Facebook and asked her to meet him, suggesting she could help him masturbate.
Charges against Mr. Pettinato were initially filed in county court. That case was withdrawn after federal prosecutors took over prosecution of the case.
Appearing before Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo in federal court in Wilkes-Barre, Mr. Pettinato said he knows what he did was wrong.
"I want to apologize to the girls," he said.
Under a plea deal worked out with federal prosecutors, Mr. Pettinato agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 10 years in prison. Judge Caputo was not obligated to accept the terms of the deal, which called for a sentence well below the federal sentencing guideline range of 17½ to 22 years and 10 months in prison.
Mr. Pettinato's attorney, Kevin Fitzgerald, urged the judge to accept the terms of the agreement, noting Mr. Pettinato had no prior record and was extremely remorseful for his conduct.
Judge Caputo said he agreed the term of imprisonment was reasonable under the circumstances of the case.
Mr. Pettinato had been held at the Lackawanna County Prison pending sentencing. He was returned to the prison pending his transfer to a federal facility.
Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com