Arthur Picanco, 43, of Bradford, Massachusetts, was sentenced on Mar. 9 to seven years in federal prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to address child exploitation crimes. Authorities say that individuals who travel across state lines with the intention of exploiting children will be prosecuted and held accountable.
“Individuals who travel across state lines to exploit children in New Hampshire will be found, prosecuted, and held accountable,” Creegan said. “The defendant deliberately traveled from Massachusetts to New Hampshire intending to purchase sex from someone he believed to be a minor. Today’s significant sentence recognizes the seriousness of his conduct.”
Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England said, “Picanco actively chose to pursue a child. He believed he was chatting with a trafficker offering him a chance to assault a child for a fee and he made deliberate choices to make it happen. He agreed on a price, he drove to New Hampshire, and he arrived with cash in hand. Now, after today’s sentencing, he’ll serve serious federal prison time.” Krol added that undercover operations are an important tool for finding and arresting child predators before they can harm real children.
According to court documents, on November 14, 2024, law enforcement agents posted an advertisement on a website commonly used for commercial sex that appeared to offer two minor females. Picanco responded and arranged payment for sex with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl. After receiving the address of a hotel in Manchester from an undercover agent, Picanco traveled there from Massachusetts with cash and a condom; police arrested him at the scene.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation with assistance from the Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Krasinski Matthew Vicinanzo and Alex Chen prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to combat child sexual exploitation by coordinating resources among federal, state, and local agencies.
