A 65-year-old man wanted for more than three years on a string of Wyoming County criminal warrants, including a felony charge of corruption of minors, has been captured in Rochester, New York, and extradited back to Pennsylvania to face the charges. Peter Gonzalez Kelly was taken into custody on August 11, 2026, and now remains lodged at the Wyoming County Correctional Facility following his return to the commonwealth.
Kelly's last known Pennsylvania address was along State Route 87 in Mehoopany, and he was wanted by Meshoppen Borough Police on a felony charge of corruption of minors, two separate misdemeanor charges of indecent assault of a person under 16 and indecent assault without consent, and a summary harassment charge, according to fox56.com. He was also wanted on a felony charge of failure to register with Pennsylvania State Police, the outlet reported. Under Pennsylvania law, corruption of minors tied to a course of sexual conduct is graded as a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine, according to Justia Law.
Kelly had reportedly been living in the Clinton Avenue area of the Bronx before his capture in Rochester, per the station's report. The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office had wanted him since he failed to appear for a plea hearing on March 3, 2023, authorities said. State police at the Tunkhannock barracks issued a public appeal in July 2026 seeking the public's help locating Kelly, noting he had been on the run for more than three years since skipping that court date, according to the Rocket-Courier.
Key Details Left Unanswered
Pennsylvania State Police did not say what led authorities to Kelly in Rochester, nor which agency ultimately took him into custody there, the same account notes. Authorities also did not provide additional details about the allegations underlying the charges. Kelly was extradited to Pennsylvania and is now lodged at the Wyoming County Correctional Facility on Stark Street in Tunkhannock, which houses pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates for the county.
The felony failure-to-register charge against Kelly stems from Pennsylvania statute 18 Pa.C.S. § 4915.1, which classifies noncompliance with sex offender registration or address verification requirements as a felony offense, per PAlegis.us. Separately, the misdemeanor indecent assault charges he faces carry a maximum of five years in prison under state law, according to the Zuckerman Law Firm. Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act regulations separately require registrants who relocate across state lines to report in person to local law enforcement within three business days of the move, per eCFR.
A Small Department, A Multi-State Case
Meshoppen Borough Police, the department that originally sought Kelly, is a small municipal agency serving a population of under 500 residents while also covering neighboring Washington Township under a municipal agreement, according to Discover Policing. Pennsylvania State Police Troop P, based in Tunkhannock, provided the broader manhunt support and fugitive apprehension resources across Wyoming County that a department of that size could not handle alone, per the Pennsylvania State Police.
Kelly's return from New York to Pennsylvania was carried out under the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, the interstate legal framework both states have adopted governing the arrest and transfer of out-of-state fugitives, according to the Office of the General Counsel of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Wyoming County itself is a rural area of northeastern Pennsylvania with an estimated 2025 population of 25,790 residents, forming part of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, per Data Commons figures cited in research on the region.
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