Pa. AG announces arrest of alleged child predator
BOYERTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- Authorities have arrested an alleged child predator.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says 46-year-old Anthony Luciani of Summit, New Jersey, came to their attention in a teenage chat room.
It was there he engaged in sex chats with an agent posing as an underage girl that would ultimately lead to his arrests and the discovery that he had real-life sexual contact with a number of minors.
In an affidavit of probable cause, Luciani stated in an interview he has been attracted to younger females ages 12 to 15 for the last 10 to 12 years.
He was asked how many children under the age of 18 he had sex with. Luciani replied, "at least six."
He identified one of those victims by name, a 14-year-old girl. He says he drove to her house in Berks County.
"Our investigators found one of those victims in Berks County. She told our investigators that Luciani came to her home one night in 2010 and had sex with her when her parents were away. She was only 14-years-old at the time," Shapiro said.
Luciani was arraigned before District Justice Michael Hartman in Boyertown.
Luciani was charged with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and one count each of unlawful contact with a minor among other offenses.
So far, the other five victims are unknown to authorities.
"Our investigation into this case is very much active and ongoing. Every case of sexual abuse against a child is terrible and we will relentlessly pursue every investigation of sexual abuse against any child in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said.
Luciani is being held at the Montgomery County Prison.
His bail is now set at $1 million.
Authorities are urging other potential victims to contact the Attorney General's Child Predator Hotline at 1-800-385-1044.
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