BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo man must register as a sex offender following his sentencing in Buffalo City Court Tuesday morning.
Mark Jacobell, 67, was sentenced to one year of sex offender probation after pleading guilty to one count of attempted sexual misconduct in September 2020. As terms of his sentence, he is required to register as a Level 1 Sex Offender.
Jacobell was arrested in January 2020 following an investigation by members of the Buffalo Police Department, Cheektowaga Police Department and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. Investigators say in November 2019, Jacobell tried to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy at a location on Delaware Avenue and Hertel Avenue in Buffalo with the intent to engage in sexual conduct.
Jacobell was one of several men featured on a YouTube channel dedicated to exposing alleged child sex predators. The channel is run by Nick Simmons, who 7 Eyewitness News profiled in October 2019.
Upon his arrest, Jacobell was initially charged with one count of attempted criminal sexual act and one count of attempted endangering the welfare of a child. Had he been convicted of those initial charges, he would have faced up to a year in prison. Following his guilty plea to a different charge and Tuesday morning's sentencing, he was not sentenced to prison time.
