Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 55-year-old Wallace Waliczek of Lancaster pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon before Lancaster Town Court Justice Anthony J. Cervi to one count of Promoting Prostitution in the Fourth Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor). The defendant pleaded guilty to the only charge against him on the day before his jury trial was set to begin.
Waliczek became the subject of an investigation following the arrest of his wife. Investigators uncovered additional evidence that determined the defendant was directly involved in the crime and that he knowingly advanced or profited from prostitution. The defendant, who was employed as a jail deputy with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, was off-duty at the time of the crime.
On August 16, 2019, the defendant’s wife was arrested after she allegedly posted an online advertisement seeking money in exchange for sexual relations. An undercover officer with the Lancaster Police Department responded and arranged a meeting with the defendant’s wife at a parking lot on Transit Road near William Street. The evidence showed that the defendant was present at the time of the arranged meeting and observed the transaction while sitting inside another vehicle in the parking lot.
The defendant’s wife, 32-year-old Melissa A. Waliczek of Lancaster, was arraigned on one count of Prostitution (Class “B” misdemeanor). The case remains pending in Human Trafficking Court.
Wallace Waliczek faces a maximum of one year in jail when he is sentenced on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. He remains released on his own recognizance as the charge in a non-qualifying offense for bail.
DA Flynn commends the Lancaster Police Department, Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the Western District of New York Human Trafficking Task Force for their work in the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Hilarie L. Henry of the Felony Trials Bureau and Assistant Chief Cathleen M. Roemer of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau.