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Sarah Norton, of Jewett City, a borough in New London County, met the teen while “gaming” online, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.
Norton then attempted to seduce the boy into engaging in sexually explicit contact through online messaging and cell phone conversations, Williams said.
In late 2017, Norton traveled from her home in Connecticut to Pennsylvania to meet with the boy for sex in a hotel room that she had rented near Allentown, Williams said.
Norton’s plan was halted after the victim's father became suspicious of the messages the boy had on his cell phone and interrupted their meeting, Williams said.
"Sarah Norton deliberately and aggressively manipulated a 14-year-old boy, a child that was around the same age as her own children, for her own sexually deviant motives,” said Williams.
“Her predatory behavior is difficult to comprehend; as a mother herself, she knew the damage she was causing and simply did not care. Our Office will continue to investigate and prosecute sexual predators like the defendant so that they can no longer harm innocent children.”
In December 2019, Norton was found guilty after a three-day trial of one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, and one count of traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, Williams said.
She was sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Joseph P. Leeson.
This case arose as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals utilize local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Upper Macungie Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.
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