ALBANY, N.Y.
A senior executive with the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce has been charged with attempting to entice a minor into sexual activity after federal investigators say he sent violent and sadistic messages to someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Peter Bardunias, 59, of Clifton Park, N.Y., was arrested Oct. 6 and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.
According to a criminal complaint, Bardunias — the chamber’s senior vice president of community advancement — spent two weeks exchanging graphic online messages with the purported teenager, who was in fact an undercover law enforcement officer. In the messages, prosecutors allege, Bardunias detailed plans to rape, strangle and torture the child.
Authorities said Bardunias drove to Warren County to meet the teenager and brought candy intended to put her at ease. He was taken into custody shortly after arriving.
A subsequent search of his home uncovered a box containing sex toys, restraints and a knife, prosecutors said. Investigators allege the items matched the description of a “torture chamber” Bardunias had told the undercover officer he planned to prepare.
Bardunias remains in federal custody pending further proceedings. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, he is facing up to life in prison.