CONCORD, N.H. — A 43-year-old Massachusetts man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after traveling to New Hampshire to have sex with a 14-year-old girl — who turned out to be an undercover ICE Homeland Security Investigations agent.
Arthur Picanco was sentenced on March 9 after falling for a sting operation run by HSI New England special agents, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Picanco responded to an online ad placed by undercover agents that appeared to depict underage girls. He then coordinated with what he believed was a real person to meet at a hotel in Manchester, N.H., arriving with cash and a condom, ICE said.
Manchester police arrested him after he arrived at the hotel and confirmed to the undercover agent that he wanted to go up to the room to meet a 14-year-old girl.
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MASSACHUSETTES MAN INTENDING TO HAVE SEX WITH 14-YEAR-OLD GETS 7 YEARS AFTER ICE HSI STING— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) March 16, 2026
43-year-old U.S. citizen Arthur Picanco was sentenced March 9 for traveling to New Hampshire to have sex with a "minor" in 2024 after seeing an online ad placed by HSI New England special… pic.twitter.com/nnYxW6MNJL
The two-day operation that snared Picanco led to six arrests in total, including a New Hampshire schoolteacher. Each defendant arranged to meet with an undercover agent and attempted to sex traffic one of two fictitious children before being arrested, ICE said.
Picanco, a U.S. citizen, was convicted of traveling interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
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