Between September 14-16, 2022, Onesimo Rodriguez Campos, 27, of Norristown; David G. Kohlmeier, 46, of Devon; Allan R. Lattanzi, 57, of Lower Providence; Kenneth Sugalski, 49, of Conshohocken; and Ashish Verma, 37, of Norristown were arrested and charged with felonies related to an alleged attempt to lure a purported 14-year-old child for sex via social media communications.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, all five men are charged with four first-degree felony charges: Unlawful Contact with a Minor; Criminal Attempt of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Minor; and Criminal Attempt of Statutory Sexual Assault. They are also each facing charges of Criminal Attempt of Assault of a minor; Criminal Attempt of Corruption of Minors; Criminal Use of Communication Facility; and Possession of an Instrument of a Crime. Further, Kohlmeier is charged with Indecent Assault of a Person Less than 16 years of age; and Lattanzi is charged with Criminal Attempt of Indecent Assault of a Person Less than 16 years of age.
Each defendant was separately communicating with undercover investigators, as the investigators were posing as a 14-year-old girl or a 14-year-old boy. All five defendants communicated extensively online via social media with a person they believed to be a minor. Some of the defendants, sent explicit photographs to the individual. The Montgomery County DA’s office reported, “each of the five defendants then appeared at an agreed-upon meeting location in Conshohocken with the intent of having sexual relations with the minor child.”
The CSE Institute commends the collaborative investigative efforts of Montgomery County detectives, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and local police from Conshohocken Borough, Upper Providence Township, Abington Township and Lansdale Borough as well as the Federal Homeland Security Investigations in this operation to protect minors from commercial sexual exploitation. It is imperative law enforcement proactively attempts to identify predatory offenders online. The CSE Institute applauds these agencies for utilizing their resources to combat the sexual exploitation of minors.
The preliminary hearings of Sugalski and Verma took place on September 26, 2022, and their charges have been “waived for court” – meaning that the Commonwealth has met its burden of proving it has sufficient evidence to merit a trial and will move forward in prosecuting their cases. Lattanzi waived his preliminary hearing on September 19, 2022, and his charges have also been waived for court. Campos’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 2, 2022 at 10:15 am, and Kohlmeier’s hearing is scheduled for November 9, 2022 at 10 am. The preliminary hearings have or are scheduled to take place before Magisterial District Judge Deborah A. Lukens. The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys with the Family Protection Unit.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.