PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge upheld the 15-year prison term for a Harrisburg man accused of luring a 17-year-old girl into prostitution at a pair of Harrisburg-area motels in 2017, court documents show.
William M. Tyson was given the prison sentence following a plea agreement. In his appeal, he argued that a ruling by a U.S. Middle District Court judge prevented him from arguing to a jury that he didn’t know the girl involved was underage.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit Judge L Felipe Restrepo wrote in his opinion that a “mistake of age” claim is not an allowable defense in cases where a defendant has recruited someone for prostitution.
Tyson contacted the girl through Facebook in August 2017 and convinced her to become a prostitute, court documents show. He then brought her to Pennsylvania from New York and had her provide sex for cash at a Motel 6 in New Cumberland.
The girl was rescued by the FBI at a Quality Inn motel during a sting operation about a week after she arrived in Pennsylvania, according to court documents.
Her cell phone contained video of her performing oral sex on Tyson, according to documents.
