NY- Oswego Mayor John Gosek was arrested Friday evening by the FBI and state police and accused of the federal offense of using a telephone to “persuade, induce, entice and coerce an individual under the age of 18 years to engage in sexual activity,” according to a news release from the U.S. attorney of the Northern District of New York.
Gosek, 58, of 275 W. Seventh St., Oswego, is being held in the Onondaga County Justice Center pending an appearance at 4:30 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate George H. Lowe in the Syracuse federal court.
The charge, alleging use of a telephone as interstate commerce for the purposes of illegal sex, falls under federal law commonly known as the Mann Act.
Conviction on the federal charge brings a minimum mandatory sentence of five years imprisonment and a maximum of as much as 30 years and a fine of up to $250,000. Gosek could also face state charges of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act, according to the release.
The potential for state charges is part of the basis for federal charges.
“It’s very troublesome. I feel bad for him, his family and the community,” city Councilor David Hall said Friday night. “It is a tragic thing for the city. Hopefully, there’s a reason and the mayor is proven innocent.”
Hall and council President William Dunsmoor visited the mayor’s wife, Connie Gosek, after the mayor called to say he had been arrested.
Gosek, a Republican, is in his second term as Oswego’s mayor and served as a city councilor in the 1990s. He began his first term as mayor in 2000.
“He has legal representation and I can’t say any more about whatever we discussed,” Dunsmoor said of his conversation with the mayor.
Gosek’s arrest results from an investigation by the state police and the FBI, and he is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Katko and Edward Broton.
Prosecutors would reveal no more about the circumstances of the alleged crime or the time and location of Gosek’s arrest.
“We don’t know the facts right now,” Hall said. “No one knows the elements behind it.”
Dunsmoor said, “After 20 years of being a police officer, I have the utmost respect for people’s rights to a fair trial. He’ll be charged, but he’s not been proven guilty at this point. He’ll have his day in court.”
“Innocent or guilty, this is a tragic thing for his family and the community in general,” Hall said.
First passed in 1910, and since updated, the Mann Act makes transporting a woman across state lines for “immoral” purposes illegal. The law “prohibits transporting any individual in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in prostitution or other sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, and related crimes,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The law generally applies when minors are victims or in cases of prostitution.