Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Joseph Defilippi, 55, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, pled guilty to one count of attempted online enticement of a minor, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany, New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea, Defilippi admitted that between about February 2018 and August 10, 2018, he exchanged multiple online communications with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year old boy “Dylan”.  Defilippi further admitted that his online communications were intended to persuade, induce, entice and coerce the boy into meeting with him for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts, and that on the morning of Friday, August 10, 2018, he travelled to the Schuyler Flatts Park in Menands, New York, in an effort to meet the child.

As a result of his conviction, Defilippi now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten (10) years imprisonment, a maximum term of life imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000.00, a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  Sentencing is scheduled for October 15, 2019 before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Albany, New York.  

This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Town of Colonie (New York) Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Belliss and Joshua Rosenthal.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.