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<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; A man with Luzerne County ties faces at least 13 years behind bars for his role in a twisted child-sex trafficking case that involved child predators dressing up in animal costumes to rape a 9-year old boy at &#8220;furry&#8221; parties, the Attorney General&#8217;s office said Tuesday.</p><p>Craig M. Knox, 37, formerly of Pittston, previously pleaded guilty to rape of a child and sexual exploitation charges after he was arrested in 2016 for his role in a child predator ring that abused the same boy.</p><p>For some, but not all, a &#8220;furry&#8221; is a sexual fetish where adults dress up as animals and identify as a chosen animal.</p><p>Court records indicated the boy was forced to dress up as Kellogg cereal mascot &#8220;Tony the Tiger&#8221; at the &#8220;furry&#8221; fetish parties while men dressed in animal costumes took turns raping him.</p><p>Knox, who was arrested in Henrico, Virginia, was charged with four other defendants in connection with the predator ring.</p><p>The assaults took place in Pittston and in Bucks County.</p><p>Knox, the last defendant in the ring to be sentenced, must serve 13 to 26 years in state prison. He was sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Joseph Sklarosky.</p><p>&#8220;Thanks to the courage of this brave survivor, we were able to hold this man accountable for his crimes,&#8221; Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. &#8220;My office will investigate and prosecute anyone we uncover who sexually abuses children to the fullest extent of the law.&#8221;</p><p>Those sentenced previously include David Parker, who received 30 years in federal prison; Jeffrey Harvey, who was sentenced to two to five years in state prison; Paige Tasker, who received one to 10 years in state prison; and Anna Durbin, who got one to five years in state prison.</p><p>Previous reports from the Attorney General&#8217;s office listed an address in Stroudsburg for Parker and in West Wyoming for Harvey.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_2017-05-08-Craig-Michael-Knox.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Knox </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_2017-05-08-Craig-Michael-Knox.jpg</photo0><caption0>Knox </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ex-Pittston man gets 13-26 years in ‘furry’ child-sex ring