Brookline Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Coercion and Enticement and Attempted Transfer of Obscene Material to a Minor

BOSTON - A Brookline man pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor.

William Kahn, 28, pleaded guilty to transfer of obscene material to a minor. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Sept. 22, 2026. Kahn was charged in December 2025.

Between June 2025 and August 2025, Kahn engaged in online conversations with an undercover agent purporting to be a 14-year-old girl. Kahn engaged in sexually explicit chat discussions with the purported minor, sent a photograph of an adult erect genitalia and discussed meeting in person with the purported minor.

The charge of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Brookline, Boston and Arlington Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/Links to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..