Attempted Child Trafficker Pleads Guilty In Delaware County Court

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — A Philadelphia man will spend up to 23 months in prison and register as a sex offender for 15 years after pleading guilty to attempted child trafficking in Delaware County.

Court records show Stephen L. Maghandy-Taghap, 37, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to criminal attempted child trafficking on Monday, Aug. 14.

Maghandy-Taghap was charged in December 2022 after a sting effort by authorities in Delaware County.

According to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office, Maghandy-Taghap responded to an ad posted by an undercover agent who was posing as an escort online.

Authorities said while posing as the teen, the agent responded that they were a 14-year-old female.

Knowing that the intended target was 14 years old, Maghandy-Taghap agreed to pay $100 for sex, authorities said.

Maghandy-Taghap was taken into custody on Dec. 8 at the meetup site in Tinicum Township.

The same sting operation also nabbed five others.

Also charged were Laurence D. Tom, 47, of Philadelphia; Joseph P. Fahy, 48, of Media; Tyler A. Wilder, 30, of Glenmoore; Andrew Chang, 56, of Upper Darby; and Daniel J. Thurman-Miller, 24, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The sting was led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and included help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, as well as multiple municipal police departments.

During the operation, which ran from Dec. 8, 2022 to Dec. 11, 2022, undercover agents posed as minors on one of the websites or social media sites which are monitored by law enforcement for use by individuals who engage in the sexual exploitation of children.