A couple years ago, former Schuylkill County DA Christine Holman was working to lock up guys like Dale Schimpf.
Now, she’s working for him.
When Holman originally ran for District Attorney in 2013, her campaign promised to put “sexual predators behind bars.”
But on Friday, Holman appeared in a Schuylkill County courtroom wanting to help an accused sexual predator out of jail … at least temporarily.
According to The Times News, Holman presented a real sob story for Schimpf.
She argued before County Judge Jacqueline Russell that Schimpf’s month or so in prison have not gone well. He’s in protective custody but with his arthritis and uninterrupted sleep, it’s been rough on the 71-year-old.
On top of that, Schimpf said his car was repo’d. And household bills are piling up as he sits in prison.
Apparently, Holman’s pleas worked. On Monday, Russell agreed to reduce Schimpf’s bail. Now, it’s just 10% of the original $100,000 cash bail.
Schimpf Accused of Child Rape
Schimpf sits in jail since his arrest on Feb. 25. That’s when Tamaqua police picked him up at his job at Nativity BVM High School in Pottsville.
He’s accused of arranging to meet a 13-year-old boy he met on the gay mobile dating app Grindr. Schimpf picked the teen up. They went to dinner together. Then, they went back to Schimpf’s Frackville home to have sex. At least, that’s what he confessed to Tamaqua police, according to details shared at Friday’s bail reduction hearing.
Despite Tamaqua police testifying Friday that Schimpf posed a threat to the community, his bail was still reduced.
Pardon us if we don’t feel bad for Schimpf’s restless nights, aching joints, and lack of money.
Lock Them Up is Now Let Him Out
As we noted, it’s a bit odd with Holman working to get an accused child sex predator out of prison (at least for the time being). A big part of her campaign for the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s office in 2013 centered on locking up people for crimes that Schimpf is accused of committing.
Check out this mailer The Canary found from Holman’s campaign:
Holman even said her opponent that year, Karen Byrnes Noon, was soft on sex crimes. Here’s the flip side of that card you probably got day after day 6 years ago:
Holman presumably will be back in court with her client on April 23 at 1 p.m. in Tamaqua.
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