By: Richard L. Smith
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger reported that a Philadelphia man today admitted using an internet-based chat application to entice a minor to engage in prostitution.
Federal officials said Louis Goldenberg, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In August 2023, Goldenberg began interacting on a messaging application with an undercover agent, who was posing as a middle-aged woman with a niece who had a minor with them.
From August through September 2023, Goldenberg messaged the undercover, continuously expressing interest in having explicit contact with the minor.
During one of the conversations, Goldenberg indicated a specific hotel in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, where he wanted to have explicit contact with the minor.
On Sept. 18, 2023, Goldenberg traveled from Pennsylvania to the Mt. Laurel hotel, where he had a reservation for that evening. When Goldenberg arrived, he was arrested by law enforcement.
The charge to which Goldenberg pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 10 years in prison, a potential maximum term of life in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2025.