Last defendant in furry abuse ring sentenced

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that a man, formerly of Luzerne County, was sentenced to 13 to 26 years in prison for rape and sexual exploitation of a 9-year-old boy.

Craig Knox, 37, was arrested in November 2016 as part of a ring of child predators in Saylorsburg who abused the same boy.

Knox’s case is related to other arrests involving adults who dress up as animals and identify as a chosen animal. For some, though not all, being a “furry” is a sexual fetish.

Knox and four other defendants were arrested and charged with sex offenses in connection with the predator ring.

David Parker was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, Jeffrey Harvey was sentenced to two to five years in state prison, Paige Tasker was sentenced to one to 10 years in state prison, and Anna Durbin was sentenced to one to five years in state prison.

Knox was sentenced by Judge Joseph Sklarosky in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. This case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Michele Kelly Walsh of the Child Predator Section and investigated by Special Agent Daniel Block.