The man who prosecutors say was the ringleader in a Centre County child sex abuse and human trafficking case will be sentenced to decades in prison after entering a guilty plea on Monday morning.

Samuel C. Friday, 68, of Taylor Township, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of trafficking of minors, two felony counts of producing child sexual abuse material and one felony count of sexual assault. The plea agreement includes a sentence of 30 to 60 years in state prison, subject to the approval of Judge Julia Rater, and dismisses 24 other counts.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 19.

In pleading guilty, Friday admitted to “a course of conduct subjecting minors to sexual servitude,” paying two teenage girls to engage in sexual acts with him and others in the basement of his home over a period of four years.

During that time, Friday took hundreds of photos and videos of the girls engaged in sexual acts, according to his plea’s statement of facts.

“The plea avoids the need to prove Mr. Friday’s conduct at a lengthy trial and brings the case closer to its final resolution,” First Assistant District Attorney Joshua Andrews said. “Today would not have been possible without the tireless work of the investigators on this case and the incredible courage of the victims and everyone who came forward with information. Our office will have more to say about the impact of these crimes on the victims and the community at sentencing, where the Commonwealth will present the basis for its sentencing recommendation to the Court.”

Friday is one of four men who were arrested in November and December 2025 after state police investigators, acting on multiple tips, found thousands of digital and analog videos and photos of juveniles engaged in sexual acts in Friday’s basement. Andrews said last year that investigators also discovered a bed, provocative outfits, a wall-mounted digital camera and sex toys.

Morris W. Reese, 65, Michael H. Woomer, 67, and James S. Kobuck, 62, are also charged for allegedly sexually abusing teenage girls and recording the encounters in Friday’s home.

District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said last year that it was the first time since he took office in 2018 that human trafficking charges have been filed in Centre County.

Multiple witnesses told investigators that Friday and Reese enticed victims with money and entertainment and transported them to Friday’s home, where the men propositioned them to perform sexual acts, according to affidavits of probable cause.

The victims resided in neighboring Blair County, Cantorna said, and based on evidence and some allegations, investigators suspect Friday may have been engaging in the conduct since the early 1990s.

One of the girls, now 18, said at a preliminary hearing that she had known Friday and Reese since she was a child and that the sexual abuse began when she was 14. She said that she “gave up” and did not know what would happen if she did not comply, according to WJAC.

Kobuck, Reese and Woomer are each still awaiting trial in Centre County court.

Reese was also indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of conspiracy to produce child pornography.