On December 23, Nicholas Peterson, 22, was arrested and charged with multiple criminal acts after a 14-year-old girl reported multiple instances between May and September of 2024 when Peterson allegedly provided the minor drugs and alcohol in exchange for sexual acts. Peterson, already detained in Lycoming County Prison for similar charges including rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, strangulation, and selling and furnishing liquor to a minor, now faces additional counts. As a result of these new allegations, Peterson is charged with 24 counts, including trafficking in individuals, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and selling and furnishing liquor to a minor.
According to the victim, Peterson began his contact with her through Snapchat and proceeded to ask if she wanted to come over to his home. Peterson also allegedly told her that she could not come over when his girlfriend was home. When the victim arrived at his home, Peterson allegedly took her into an upstairs bedroom and removed her clothing. According to the complaint, he then performed oral sex on the victim and forced her to do the same to him, further giving her marijuana after the acts were done. The minor victim told investigators that Peterson had “jars and jars” of marijuana in a locked safe underneath his bed.
According to the report, the minor victim met with Peterson on another night after leaving a friend’s home and claimed that Peterson digitally penetrated her. Peterson allegedly gave her two half-full bottles of Jack Daniels in exchange. Additionally, police stated at one point during their multiple encounters, the victim refused to engage in a sexual act, but Peterson grabbed her by the throat and further forced her to have sex with him.
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. A commercial sex act is a sex act for which anything of value is exchanged.
To be guilty of sex trafficking of a child, the prosecution must only prove that the defendants engaged in one of the above acts. Because the victim is a minor, it does not need to be proven 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.
If the reported facts are proven to be true, then the charges of trafficking in individuals are appropriate for Peterson. By enticing a 14-year-old girl to perform sexual acts with him in exchange for alcohol and drugs, Peterson committed one of the acts required to satisfy the elements of the human trafficking charge.
The CSE Institute praises the collaborative efforts of the Williamsport Bureau of Police and the Lycoming County District Attorney’s office for not only arresting and prosecuting Peterson, but also for prioritizing the protection of minors from commercial sexual exploitation in Pennsylvania. We must continue to criminalize human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable young individuals, as this will greatly reduce the demand for commercial sex and help curb human trafficking overall. We additionally urge law enforcement to continue taking steps to protect their communities by conducting thorough investigations into suspected sex trafficking and encourage prosecutors statewide to utilize the human trafficking statutes when appropriate.
Most importantly, the CSE Institute commends the incredible bravery of the survivor in this case. Their voice is undeniably the driving force behind transforming the narrative around sex trafficking and must be amplified to help survivors achieve justice and hold perpetrators available.
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.