Broome County Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Enticement and Coercion of a Minor

 SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Richard C. O’Hara, age 32, of Broome County pled guilty today to attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct with him. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas F. Relford, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his guilty plea, O’Hara admitted that in July and August 2020 he exchanged multiple sexually explicit messages online with an undercover officer posing a 10-year-old girl, in an attempt to entice the child into having sex with him. O’Hara also admitted that on August 5, 2020 he traveled to a house where he believed the child lived, intending to engage in sex acts with her that day. 

O’Hara faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. Sentencing is scheduled for November 3, 2021 in Binghamton, New York before Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. O’Hara also will have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.