A Schuylkill County man accused of attempting to meet a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl was released on unsecured bail at his preliminary hearing Tuesday so he could attend his father’s funeral.
Shane Phillips, 25, of Middleport, was arrested in June on felony charges of attempted statutory sexual assault, attempted unlawful contact with a minor, attempted criminal use of a communication facility, and attempted corruption of minors. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of attempted indecent exposure and attempted indecent assault, and remanded to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Phillips appeared before Senior Magisterial District Judge Edward Lewis on Tuesday for his preliminary hearing on those charges, which he waived to Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas. Lewis agreed to a motion to modify Phillips’ bail to $100,000 unsecured so he can attend the funeral. The judge ordered Phillips not to have any computer, tablet, or cell phone, be online in any way, or have contact with minors while he’s free on bail.
According to Blythe Township police, the charges stem from an April 6 report made by a representative of 814 Pred Hunters, a civilian decoy group based in western Pennsylvania. A decoy for the group told investigators they portrayed themselves as a 14-year-old girl on Facebook Dating, where Phillips initiated contact last summer.
The decoy told police the conversation moved to text messages in September, at which point they informed Phillips she was almost 15 years old. According to the decoy’s statement to police, Phillips replied, “…OK it’s… not my first rodeo in that department.. but I’d have to be careful.. with who looks at ur phone I’d say is all.”
Police said the decoy reported that Phillips engaged in sexually oriented conversations over an extended period, sending explicit videos and photographs of himself and requesting photographs in return. In messages provided to police, Phillips instructed the decoy to lie about her age if his parents asked, writing: “Your soposed to say that your 19 so I don’t have to explain that yiur underage thing.”
The two arranged to meet on April 6 at the Middleport fire station, police said. A representative for 814 Pred Hunters parked at the agreed-upon location and confronted Phillips as he crossed the street. According to the representative’s statement to police, Phillips initially claimed he was meeting a 19-year-old girlfriend. After the representative stated he knew the age the decoy had provided, Phillips admitted he believed the person he was meeting was 14 years old, police said.
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