On December 20, Richard Armstrong, 61, of Brodheadsville, was arrested after he allegedly attempted to purchase children for sex through the Kik application and exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos of minor girls online. As a result, Armstrong is charged with one count each of trafficking in individuals, criminal attempt to patronize a victim of human trafficking, criminal attempt to promote the prostitution of minors, dissemination of photographs and film of child sexual abuse material, and criminal solicitation of photographs and films of child sexual abuse material.
According to affidavit of probable cause, police received three cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on October 1, as well as an additional report on September 26. These cyber tips reportedly flagged ten images depicting child sexual abuse material that were uploaded and disseminated on the Kik messenger platform to another user. When analyzing these cyber tips, investigators identified the alleged child sexual abuse material in messages to be from Richard Armstrong and a woman.
On October 11, the FBI contacted Armstrong, who then reportedly admitted to using the Kik messenger platform and engaging in sexual conversations online. Further, investigators report that Armstrong admitted to communicating with people looking to “rent” out their children for sex and to exchanging photos and videos of naked minors online.
A search warrant was obtained for Armstrong’s residence. Before it was executed, it was reported that Armstrong was in communication with an undercover special agent who was posing as a father that was offering sexual context with his daughter. Investigators later learned that Armstrong had been identified during an undercover chat operation, where he went by the alias “Richie.” In the operation, Armstrong allegedly attempted to establish sexual contact with a fictional 14-year-old stepdaughter of the undercover agent. He not only allegedly offered to pay for the sex acts, but also allegedly planned to travel out of state to engage in them. Additionally, Armstrong allegedly sent multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse material to the undercover agent.
On November 8, an officer interviewed Armstrong outside of his residence when Armstrong admitted to previously using the Kik platform. According to the officer, Armstrong stated that he currently lives with his wife at his residence and has a biological daughter who he does not have a relationship with. Armstrong reportedly claimed that the reason why he was using the Kik platform was to get back in contact with his daughter. However, once the investigation took place, eight images of child sexual abuse material were allegedly identified on Armstrong’s device, as well as other evidence on devices associated with Armstrong.
Under Pennsylvania law, an individual is guilty of trafficking if they recruit, entice, solicit, patronize, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, advertise, or maintain another person for a commercial sex act. To be guilty of sex trafficking of a child, the prosecution must only prove that the defendant engaged in recruiting, enticing, soliciting, patronizing, advertising, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, or maintaining a minor who is or will be subject to sexual servitude.
If the alleged victim is a minor, the prosecution does not need to prove that the defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the victim’s age, nor does it have to be proven that anything of value was exchanged for the sex act. Under both federal and state law, any commercial sexual exploitation of minors constitutes sex trafficking because children cannot consent to be bought or sold for sex.
The CSE Institute applauds the Pennsylvania State Police and Monroe County District Attorney’s Office for appropriately charging Armstrong for his crimes against children. Here, the facts reveal that Armstrong’s alleged and intended victims were minors. By engaging with the undercover officers online and arranging to purchase who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, Armstrong solicited and attempted to patronize the minor for sex, warranting the human trafficking charge.
Moreover, the CSE Institute believes that the other charges were appropriate in this case as well. Just as children cannot legally consent to being bought and sold for sex, they cannot consent to having images of their abuse recorded and distributed. Every explicit photo or video of a child is actually evidence that the child has been a victim of sexual abuse. Accordingly, we are pleased to see Armstrong be held responsible for the unlawful and harmful dissemination of child sexual abuse material on Kik.
The CSE Institute applauds the collaborative efforts of Cpl. Jonathan Bailey, the Pennsylvania State Police Southeast Computer Crimes Task Force, and the FBI for not only arresting and prosecuting Armstrong, but also for prioritizing the protection of minors from commercial sexual exploitation in Pennsylvania. We must persist in criminalizing human trafficking and the exploitation of young, vulnerable individuals, as doing so will significantly decrease the demand for commercial sex and reduce human trafficking as a whole.
Peterson’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 20. The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.