NORRISTOWN — A former Berwyn, Chester County, man is headed to prison after he admitted to trying to meet who he believed was an underage girl for sex but who he soon learned was an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the teen.
Henry M. Kurban, 48, formerly of the 1000 block of Old Lancaster Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to one to two years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful contact with a minor, attempted statutory sexual assault with someone he believed was under 16 and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with incidents that occurred between October and November 2022.
Judge Virgil B. Walker also ordered Kurban to complete three years’ probation consecutive to parole, meaning Kurban will be under court supervision for five years.
The judge recommended that Kurban serve the sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands in Somerset County, which houses older offenders.
Kurban, who previously listed addresses in the 200 block of West Lancaster Avenue, Lower Merion, and in Orlando, Fla., also faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan’s Law.
Kurban was arrested during an undercover sting operation conducted by agents with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General investigating sexual exploitation of children via the internet.
The investigation began in October 2022, when an undercover state agent assumed the identity of an adult female who communicated online that she was a mother looking for someone for her 13-year-old daughter for a sexual experience, according to a criminal complaint filed by Brian King, a special agent with the attorney general’s office.
The undercover state investigator communicated with Kurban on a mobile device during the undercover operation.
During the investigation, Kurban then allegedly started to communicate with the purported 13-year-old girl via text message. During the conversations, the purported minor informed Kurban that she was 13 and Kurban “understood this and continued to communicate” and explained he wanted to meet the minor to engage in sex acts, according to the criminal complaint.
Kurban allegedly “explained that he would bring condoms and ‘Plan B’ to prevent pregnancy,” investigators alleged.
On Nov. 6, 2022, Kurban arrived at a predetermined location in the 2300 block of Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting in Montgomery County and notified the purported minor that he had arrived. At that time, state agents moved in and took Kurban into custody without incident.
Kurban gave authorities consent to search his vehicle and during the search, investigators seized condoms, candy and a package of Plan B, commonly known as the “Morning After Pill,” according to the arrest affidavit.
During an interview by investigators, Kurban admitted he met a woman online and communicated via the social media messaging application known as Kik. Kurban also admitted to eventually communicating with who he believed was the woman’s 13-year-old daughter “and those conversations involved the two of them engaging in sexual acts,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Kurban explained he had left his Berwyn residence and traveled to the Plymouth Meeting location to meet a female but that he thought she was 18 years old, according to the criminal complaint.
A charge of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a minor was dismissed against Kurban.
State Deputy Attorney General Zachary Wynkoop prosecuted the case. Defense lawyer Steven Fairlie represented Kurban during the court proceedings.
