PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Andrew Wolf, 42, of Philadelphia, PA, and Kray Strange, 20, of Carthage, NY, both pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to multiple child exploitation offenses in connection with their scheme to manipulate and catfish children online, including Wolf’s own middle school students.
In February 2022, the defendants were indicted on charges of conspiracy to manufacture child pornography, along with several counts of manufacture and attempted manufacture of child pornography. These charges, to which they pleaded guilty today, stem from conduct which occurred over a period of one year. Between May 2020 and October 2021, Wolf and Strange developed and carried out an elaborate online child exploitation catfishing scheme, in which they impersonated minor girls to entice their child victims to self-produce and send them sexually explicit images. As part of their scheme, Wolf provided identifying information for his own middle school students to Strange so that Strange could target them online.
“Both of these defendants violated the privacy and innocence of children, but Andrew Wolf also violated the trust of the community in which he taught by victimizing his own students,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Our Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to doing the difficult work of investigating and prosecuting these crimes in order to hold child sexual predators accountable.”
“A teacher facilitating the sexual exploitation of his young students is the stuff of parents’ nightmares — and an instant priority for the FBI,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “Andrew Wolf and Kray Strange now admit taking advantage of vulnerable boys for their own vile gratification. Our Crimes Against Children Task Force works around the clock to identify, investigate, and lock up predators like these two — and, sadly, there are many. We’d urge adults to remind the kids in their lives that not everyone is who they say they are online.”
Defendant Wolf faces a maximum possible sentence of 240 years in prison, and defendant Strange faces a maximum possible sentence of 210 years in prison. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly Harrell.