BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Richard Buffalo, 36, of Salamanca, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with enticement and attempted enticement of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene matter to an individual under the age of 16. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey T. Fiut, who is
handling the case, stated that according to the criminal complaint, in October
2020, the defendant began communicating with a minor female victim on the
social media application Snapchat. Buffalo asked the minor victim if she wanted
to have sex with him and offered to come pick her up. The minor victim advised
the defendant that she was only 14 years old, but Buffalo persisted in his
efforts to meet up with the minor victim. In November 2020, an undercover law
enforcement officer, posing as the victim, began communicating with Buffalo on
Snapchat and through text messaging. Believing the undercover officer to be the
minor victim, the defendant asked if she wanted to have sex and requested that
she send him nude images of herself. Buffalo also sent alleged nude images of
himself to the undercover officer. The defendant later asked the undercover
officer to meet in person, and the two agreed upon a time and place for the
meeting. Buffalo arrived at the predetermined location and was taken into
custody.
Buffalo made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate
Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and is
being held pending a detention hearing on December 8, 2020.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by
Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special
Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Salamanca Police Department, under the
direction of Chief Troy Westfall.
