Arizona Man Sentenced to over 13 Years in Prison for Attempted Coercion or Enticement of a Minor

FRESNO, Calif. - Anthony Dalton Wolff, 44, of Surprise, Arizona, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 13 years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay a money judgment of $15,000, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

The sentence includes 15 years of supervised release during which Wolff's access to minors, electronic devices, and the internet will be restricted, and he will be required to register as a sex offender. Wolff pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 15, 2025.

According to court documents, between March 16, 2023, and July 30, 2024, Wolff met and then communicated with an undercover federal agent on a forum on the dark web dedicated to discussion of child sexual abuse. The undercover agent had established a profile for a mother with a 7-year-old daughter. Wolff contacted the agent and immediately stated that he had a long-standing sexual interest in girls, and he hoped to have a sexual relationship with the agent and her purported daughter. Wolff moved the communications to Telegram, an end-to-end encrypted application, and frequently sent videos of himself while viewing and commenting on some of his favorite child exploitation videos. He planned to meet the agent and her daughter in California and described in graphic detail how he wanted to sexually abuse the girl and to have another child with the mother so he could sexually abuse that child.

The Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the "resources" tab for information about internet-safety education.