U.S. Attorney William Hochul Jr. announced today that a federal jury convicted Dalton Wilke, 45, of Conesus of online enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography following a two-week trial.

The Online Enticement charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison with a mandatory minimum period of 10 years in prison, Receipt of Child Pornography carries a maximum penalty of 20 years with a mandatory minimum period of five years in prison, Possession of Child Pornography carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Each count is also punishable by a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig Gestring and Marisa Miller, who tried the case, stated that the defendant engaged in a series of sexually explicit online chats with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old boy. Over a period of 5 months, the defendant repeatedly attempted to induce, persuade and entice the child to meet for the purpose of having sex.

A meeting was finally agreed to Aug. 2008 at a park in Batavia. In actuality, the child was an undercover Batavia Police detective conducting an online child exploitation investigation. The defendant arrived at the planned meeting location in Batavia and was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officers of the Batavia Police Department. Following his arrest, FBI agents seized the defendant's computers from his home in Conesus.

A forensic analysis of the computers, performed at the Regional Computer Forensic Lab, linked them to the online enticement, and also recovered a 48-minute-long video depicting two young boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition to finding the defendant guilty on all counts, the jury also determined that the vehicle he drove to the meeting location was subject to forfeiture.

Hochul said, "This case serves as yet another reminder for parents to monitor their children's use of the Internet. It also demonstrates to all that predators continue to use the internet for their evil purposes."