LANCASTER, Pa. — A Virginia man will serve up to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his attempt to arrange a sexual encounter with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in Lancaster County, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Tanner Iskra, 38, of Stafford, Virginia, was actually communicating online with an undercover officer working on the Lancaster County Human Trafficking Task Force prior to his arrest in 2022.
He pleaded guilty in September 2023 to attempted statutory sexual assault, attempted corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication facility, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
At a hearing last Friday, he was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison by Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker.
"The defendant was in fact looking to have sex with a child,” said Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick, who prosecuted the case. “Nothing can change those facts.”
The Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a sting operation in June 2022 that focused on the online solicitation of minors for sexual encounters.
Iskra responded to an online ad and began communicating with an undercover detective posing as the relative of a 13-year-old girl. Iskra agreed to pay $200 to have sex with the girl for an hour, and drove to Lancaster County for the encounter when he was arrested.
“To drive all the way from where you live to here was plenty of time for you to think about what you were doing,” Reinaker said to the defendant. “But you didn’t.”
Reinaker added that the fact there was no actual 13-year-old involved is irrelevant, according to the DA's Office.
“This is very serious stuff,” Reinaker said. “It didn’t involve an actual victim, but that’s no benefit to you. If it were up to you, there would’ve been a victim.”
As part of the plea arrangement, Iskra was also sentenced to eight years of probation following his prison term and must register as a sex offender with the Pennsylvania State Police for the rest of his life.
East Lampeter Township Police Detective Christopher Jones filed charges.
