A Schuylkill County judge agreed to reduce bail for accused child rapist Dale Schimpf on Monday.
According to court records, Judge Jacqueline Russell agreed to reduce Schimpf’s bail from $100,000 straight cash bail to just 10% of that. That’s $10,000.
Schimpf’s been in jail since his arrest on Feb. 25. That’s when Tamaqua police hauled him off the job as a music instructor at Nativity BVM High School in Pottsville.
They accuse Schimpf of arranging to meet a teenager from the Tamaqua area via the gay mobile dating app Grindr. Schimpf allegedly picked the teen up in his car. They went to dinner. And then Schimpf took the boy back to his Frackville home to have sex.
Tamaqua police say Schimpf confessed to these crimes after he was arrested.
Schimpf faces the following charges:
- Statutory Sexual Assault * FELONY 1 *
- IDSI Forcible Compulsion * FELONY 1 *
- IDSI Person Less Than 16 Years of Age * FELONY 1 *
- Criminal Solicitation – IDSI Person Less Than 16 Years of Age * FELONY 1 *
- Corruption of Minors * FELONY 3 *
- Indecent Exposure * MISDEMEANOR 1 *
- Indecent Assault – Person Less Than 16 Years of Age * MISDEMEANOR 1 *
Dale Schimpf Bail Reduced
At a bail reduction hearing Friday, Schimpf pleaded with Russell to let him out of Schuylkill County Prison. According to The Times News, Schimpf told the judge that since his incarceration, he’s had his car repossessed and household bills are piling up.
His attorney even argued that Schimpf suffers from “interrupted sleep” in prison and arthritis, which is making his stay in prison difficult.
In court on Friday, Schimpf told Russell he has about $1,000 to put toward bail.
Police on Friday argued that Schimpf still presents a threat to the community and should not have bail reduced.
Somehow, this led Russell to agree to reduce his bail Monday.
Schimpf’s preliminary hearing is set for April 23, at 1 p.m., in Tamaqua.
Schuylkill County Grindr App Scandal
Schimpf’s arrest came first in a series of four in Schuylkill County. They all center around one teenage boy in the Tamaqua area who met 4 different county adult men using the Grindr app.
In Schimpf’s case, he says the boy claimed he was 30. And despite the seemingly obvious differences between a man that age and a 13-year-old, Schimpf continued with the hook-up.
The teen allegedly met 3 other Schuylkill County men via the app, including a Port Carbon borough councilman.
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