Party cancelled due to sexual assault charges on a minor by station owner.
Posted on 08/12/2018 6:16:36 AM PDT by raccoonradio
(Note: Croyle also runs a paper and a radio station) Kittanning (PA) Council does not have the authority to remove a councilman from office despite charges he engaged in sexual contact with a disabled 14-year-old, Council President Kim Chiesa said Friday.
On Thursday, Council Vice President David John Croyle, 60, was arrested and charged with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a person with a mental disability, corruption of minors and related charges.
Croyle is the editor and publisher of the Kittanning Paper and senior pastor at the Family-Life Church on South Jefferson Street in Kittanning.
Also arrested and facing identical charges is Applewold Council President Mark Alan Feeney, 55, who also serves as chief of the East Franklin Township Fire Department and fire marshal for North Buffalo Township.
Both men were arraigned on the charges before District Judge James H. Owen on Friday morning and held in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond each.
Representatives of the Family-Life Church, Applewold Council and East Franklin Township Fire Department either refused or did not return requests for comment.
According to court documents, the victim told police he first met Feeney in 2016 at Riverfront Park in Kittanning through a mutual friend. The victim told police Feeney scolded him over his contact with their mutual friend, an unidentified adult, and told him not to have further contact with the man due to the victim’s relative age.
Despite this admonishment, according to court documents, Feeney later sent the victim a Facebook friend request and began to have sexually explicit conversations with him. The pair began to exchange nude photos sometime after that, police say in court documents.
Around Easter of 2016, police say, the victim met Feeney at his Ridge Road home in Applewold on three occasions for sexual encounters.
Police say Feeney referred to his home as “the Hangout.”
During the third encounter, the victim told police he didn’t want to have sex with Feeney, that it was dark in the room and he asked Feeney to stop but he did not.
After the encounter ended, police say in court documents, Feeney told the victim to stay silent about the encounter. The victim told police he did not respond to further messages from Feeney.
Later that year, according to court documents, the victim told police he first met Croyle while filling out an employment application at the Kittanning Paper. The victim told officers the application indicated he was 14 years old. The victim told police he next heard from Croyle through the social media application Grindr. That contact led to an exchange of phone numbers, which eventually led to the victim and Croyle exchanging nude images, according to court documents.
During the summer of 2016, the victim told police, Croyle invited him to his residence on South Jefferson Street. When he arrived, the victim told police, Croyle led him to a bedroom for a sexual encounter. After the encounter, the victim told police, he was instructed to stay silent lest Croyle lose his job.
A second encounter occurred later that summer, the victim told police, and was again told to remain silent about it.
Croyle and Feeney are scheduled to again appear before Owen on Aug. 22 for preliminary hearings.
According to Councilwoman Chiesa, the allegations against Croyle are serious enough that she has begun reaching out to the rest of council to see if there is enough support to ask for Croyle’s resignation.
Beyond that, state law make it difficult for council to act.
“We’re still researching and looking into everything. We cannot remove him from office; we know that,” she said. “We are waiting to see how this plays out.
”Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. All I know is we are allowed to ask for a resignation. We cannot demand.”
According to Ronald J. Grutza, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs’ assistant director of government affairs, removing a member of a legislative body is not a power granted to a borough’s council.
“Removing someone from office belongs to the court, or by the (state) constitution through the governor, or by impeachment,” he said. “So, that’s where we stand today.”
In an emailed statement sent Friday afternoon, North Buffalo Township Solicitor Chuck Pascal said Feeney had been removed from his position as fire marshal.
“While the supervisors are not making any judgment on the charges filed against Mr. Feeney, they believe it is in the interest of township residents that they suspend Mr. Feeney from his duties until the resolution of this very serious matter,” Pascal said.
Croyle announced on Facebook later that the party was cancelled and deleted some comments. The website for the Kittanning Paper, which he also runs, had an ad for the turnon party. When you click on it you get an error message.
There are some sick people in this world. Politicians all over this country are being charged with the awful crime of assault on children. And not just politicians, but teachers, clergymen, illegal immigrants and others have been arrested for this crime. It’s time to give these people the death penalty for such a horrific crime.
This wouldn’t happen if Family Life pastors were allowed to get married.
I agree wholeheartedly.
I think Grindr needs to be investigated for allowing a 14 year old to use its services...
+1
Searched:
>>Grindr
Grindr is a geosocial networking mobile app geared towards gay and bisexual men, designed to help them meet other men in their area. It runs on iOS and Android. (Wikipedia)\
A further search on google:
>>18 YEARS
THE GRINDR SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS AGED 18 YEARS OR OLDER. 1. AGE RESTRICTED ACCESS. NO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS (TWENTY-ONE (21) YEARS IN PLACES WHERE EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS IS NOT THE AGE OF MAJORITY) MAY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY VIEW, POSSESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE GRINDR SERVICES.Jun 9, 2015
(Links to an article):
Men in jail after 13-year-old poses as 18 on Grindr in Layton - QSaltLake
I’m not familiar with this sect’s particular practices, but I assume you’re being sarcastic. The man of God was molesting a “mentally disabled” 14-year-old boy, so presumably an adult woman may not be his cup of tea.
Is it possible that someone in the town could report this perv to the police? I have a feeling that if he were in the slammer it might curtail his availability for council meetings.
That’s now 2 instances of underage users getting on the system.
Makes ya wonder how well they’re validating that check.
There is always lynching. Get a rope and hang him from the nearest tree.
Sex addicts are often omnivorous, sexually devouring everything in their path.
They will seek sex with anything that can’t move fast enough to get away from them.
so he’s a queer to boot.
Because that works so well in the Religion of Peace?
The guy was a pedophile queer, not a skirt-chaser.
Croyle is the editor and publisher of the Kittanning Paper and senior pastor at the Family-Life Church on South Jefferson Street in Kittanning.
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I would hope said church is undergoing some serious scrutiny about now. And any attending parent of a child would be having a very serious convo with their child(ren).
I get the sarcasm, and it is likely spot on and well deserved.
It is obvious and true that not even any “majority” of men who pledge themselves to celibacy commit the crimes for which “the priesthood” is often painted with a broad brush, due the actions of a minority of priests.
Where is Josh Shapiro? This would be a perfect opportunity for his self-righteous attention-whoring... but I guess he only rolls out media circus clown car when it's the Catholics.
Is this clause in the Pennsylvania State constitution relevant?
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