NEWARK, N.J. – A Lebanon, Indiana, man was indicted today
for attempting to coerce an individual he thought was a 14-year old boy into
engaging in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Randal Wise, 43, is charged by indictment with one count of
attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct.
According to documents filed in this case and statements
made in court:
On Oct. 25, 2019, Wise sent messages via an online dating
application to an individual who told Wise that he was a 14-year-old boy in the
eighth grade. Unbeknownst to Wise, the individual was an undercover agent (UC)
posing as a minor victim. Wise engaged in sexual conversations with the UC and
sent photographs of his genitals to the UC. Wise also asked the UC to send nude
photographs and invited the UC to his hotel room. The following day, Wise again
contacted the UC via the dating application and made arrangements to meet in
person at a residence in Somerset, New Jersey. When Wise arrived at the house,
he was arrested by law enforcement agents.
The attempted online enticement of a minor charge carries a
mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, a maximum potential penalty of
life in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI,
under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with
the investigation leading to today’s indictment. He also thanked the Somerset
County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Michael
Robertson, for its assistance.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are
merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Patricia Astorga of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division.
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