CONCORD, NH – A former Manchester West High School ROTC teacher was sentenced to 13 ½ years in federal prison for attempting to sex traffic a 12-year-old.
Stacey Lancaster, 47, was convicted on one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor after a three-day trial in U.S. District Court.
Judge Paul Barbadoro, who presided at his trial, sentenced Lancaster to 142 months in federal prison. The sentence inlucded five years of supervision upon release.
Lancaster was one of five men – the other four from Massachusetts — arrested in connection with the underage sex sting operation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
On Nov. 14 and 15, 2024, federal agents posted an advertisement on a website commonly used to advertise commercial sex. The advertisement contained images of what appeared to be two underage girls, and a contact phone number.
According to court documents, Lancaster allegedly responded to the online ad for sex and had a text chat with the advertiser while he was at work at West High School.
Lori Robinson, Special Agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), wrote in her affidavit that on Nov. 14, 2024, law enforcement agents posted an advertisement on a website commonly used to advertise commercial sex acts.
It contained images of what appeared to be two young girls and said:
“Sweet & tight! Ready 2 have some fun!” “In town 4 a limited time only” “Cute & very petite girl that is tight from head to toe! Cum over to play with me!” “Text for donations. In call only – safe and discrete location.”
The ad contained a contact phone number used by an undercover agent to communicate with potential sex buyers, including Lancaster.
On the same day the ad was posted, a text conversation began between the undercover agent and the caller, identified by officers as Lancaster. The undercover agent said they had two minor girls—ages 12 and 14 years old—available to perform sex acts in exchange for money. Lancaster agreed to pay $100 to have sex with the 12-year-old girl, according to Robinson’s affidavit.
During a text conversation between the undercover agent and Lancaster, the agent stated that he/she had a 12-year-old girl available to perform sex acts in exchange for money. The agent then provided Lancaster with the address of a hotel in Manchester. Once at the hotel, Lancaster met with an undercover agent and confirmed that he was in possession of the agreed upon $100 to pay for the commercial sex act, and that he would use a condom.
There was no underage girl at the hotel when Lancaster arrived on the afternoon of Nov. 14, 2024, but there were law enforcement officers who arrested him.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Krasinski and Matthew Vicinanzo prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.