Lewiston man charged with enticement of 13-year-old girl

LEWISTON, N.Y. — CJ A. Wolf was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with enticement of a minor in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on May 6, 2026.

The single-count complaint names Wolf, of Lewiston, as the defendant. Federal law defines the offense as using the internet, mail or other interstate commerce facilities to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity that can be charged as a criminal offense.

The statute cited is 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), which applies when the minor is under 18 years old. The penalty is a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum of life imprisonment.

The charging document alleges Wolf took concrete steps to arrange sexual activity with a person he believed to be 13 years old. No additional defendants or co-conspirators are named in the complaint. The scope of the case is limited to this single alleged victim and single defendant.

The filing shifts the case from investigation to formal prosecution. Wolf is now in federal custody and will appear before a magistrate judge for an initial appearance and detention hearing. If convicted, sentencing will be governed by federal guidelines that start at the 10-year floor.

The next required actions are discovery production by the government, any motions practice, and either a plea or trial in the Western District of New York.

Downstream, the mandatory minimum triggers a series of procedural deadlines under the Speedy Trial Act. A conviction would also require Wolf to register as a sex offender upon release and subject him to supervised release for life. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York will continue to handle the prosecution; no other agencies are identified in the release as leading parallel actions.

This case follows the standard pattern of federal enticement prosecutions brought by the Justice Department, which rely on undercover agents or cooperating witnesses posing as minors. The Department has brought hundreds of similar cases in recent years under the same statute, each carrying the identical 10-year mandatory minimum established by Congress in 2006.

The Lewiston complaint contains no indication it is part of a named multi-defendant initiative.