Lansing man gets nearly 20 years for trying to have sex with girl

SHARE Lansing man gets nearly 20 years for trying to have sex with girl

A south suburban man was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison Monday for trying to persuade a 14-year-old girl to have sex with him. Not only did his plan fail, but the girl turned out to be a cop.

Martin N. Pazdzuira

Martin N. Pazdzuira, 45, of Lansing pleaded guilty in April to using the Internet to attempt to persuade an individual he believed to be a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Pazdzuira admitted he frequently used the Internet to chat with underage girls, according to a statement from prosecutors. In August 2012, he began chatting with “Emily,” whom he believed was 14, and told her he was 16.

He made plans to meet “Emily” and take her to a hotel in Indiana to engage in sexual conduct, but was arrested when he showed up to meet her, prosecutors said. The “girl” was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.

“Thank goodness it was law enforcement posing as ‘Emily,’ and not Emily,” U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said when she handed down the 235-month, or 19 years and 7 month, sentence Monday in federal court.

Pazdzuira, who had two prior convictions for child sexual exploitation offenses, will be placed on court supervision for life following his release.

In 1995, he was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving an 8-year-old child; and in 2005, he was convicted of possession of child pornography, according to the statement.

The Latest
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.