Ithaca man sentenced to prison for child coercion and enticement, firearm possession
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ITHACA, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — An Ithaca man was sentenced to 151 months in prison for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, along with possession of a prohibited loaded handgun.
In a previous guilty plea, 49-year-old Joel Cook admitted that he sent sexually explicit texts to a 14-year-old girl, attempting to entice and coerce her into engaging in sexual conduct with him.
The girl’s family reported Cook to police. The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI then began to pose as the child in messages with Cook.
Cook continued sending explicit messages to authorities who were posing as the child for a month, asking the girl for explicit photos and describing what type of sexual conduct they could engage in.
He was then arrested in April 2023 after arriving at a location where he had arranged to meet the girl.
A loaded pistol was also found inside a hat in a dresser drawer in Cook’s bedroom. He was prohibited from having the firearm due to a 2022 Chemung County Court conviction for Grand Larceny in the third degree.
Cook will also have to serve 15 years of supervised release after his prison sentence and will be required to register as a sex offender.
