‘DIRTY OLD SANTA’ ENTERS GUILTY PLEA
NASTY ST. NICK PINCHED IN ONLINE TEEN SEX CASE
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A 57-year-old Philadelphia man who referred to himself as a “dirty old Santa” in messages to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl was sentenced to one to two years in a state prison Monday after pleading guilty to solicitation to statutory sexual assault, a first-degree felony.
William T. McKinlay, 56, of the 900 block of Marcella Street, was also sentenced to eight years of consecutive sex offender probation and must register as a sex offender for life under the negotiated plea worked out by Assistant District Attorney Chris Boggs and defense counsel Glen Hoffman.
McKinlay, a father of two, was arrested June 21 at an ice cream parlor in Ridley Township, where he believed he would be meeting a 14-year-old girl he had been corresponding with online. The “girl” was actually Ridley Township Officer Timothy Kearney, a member of the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Kearney began his investigation April 12 by posing as “Stephanie” to answer an advertisement posted on a social media website seeking “young uns,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Kearney and county Detective Edmond J. Pisani Jr., another member of the task force.
An individual identifying himself as “Will” initially responded through the website’s messaging service. He then provided an email address and began exchanging messages with “Stephanie” through Google Hangouts, the affidavit states.
After learning her age, “Will” began having sexually explicit conversations with the teen.
“During the course of the last month, ‘Will’ has explained to ‘Stephanie’ how to masturbate and ordered her to do ‘homework.’ This involved her learning how to masturbate herself, provided in graphic detail by ‘Will,’” according to the affidavit.
“Stephanie” told “Will” that she did not have a camera phone because she had recently gotten into trouble for taking pictures of herself. On May 30, “Will” sent “Stephanie” a photograph of his erect penis, as well as a picture in which he made a gesture of oral sex.
Investigators obtained subscriber information and a telephone number for the social media advertisement, according to the affidavit. The phone number was subsequently matched to McKinlay at the Marcella Street address.
Investigators then searched PennDOT records and found a driver’s license for McKinlay. The license photograph matched the pictures “Will” had sent to “Stephanie,” the affidavit states.
McKinlay’s Facebook page also included a photo dated December 2016 that appeared to be McKinlay dressed as Santa. Then-District Attorney Jack Whelan said his office was able to confirm that McKinlay worked as a seasonal employee at a Macy’s in Philadelphia.
In a June 12 exchange, McKinlay described how he would love to see “Stephanie” naked and teach her about sex. “Stephanie” responded by asking if they were going to do anything. McKinlay said “there can be lots of touching but they won’t have sex.”
That same day, McKinlay began to discuss meeting the teen and hanging out in a park. They eventually decided to meet at the ice cream business in Ridley Township.
The following day, McKinlay confirmed they would meet at the designated spot at 4 p.m. June 21. He reconfirmed again June 19 and told the teen, “It would help if you didn’t wear that many clothes in the first place,” the affidavit states.
“What I really want you wear is a sleeveless T-shirt, a pair of shorts and some sneakers,” McKinlay said June 20. “Just those 3 items, nothing else.”
Pisani and Kearney were watching the designated meeting place June 21 at 3:05 p.m. when another Ridley Township police officer noticed McKinlay was at a business across the street, the affidavit states.
McKinley made his way to the meeting spot at approximately 4 p.m., where he bought an item at the ice cream business and sat down, the affidavit states.
McKinlay was immediately approached by Kearney and fellow Ridley Officer Leo Doyle, as well as Pisani, county Detective Sgt. Kenneth Bellis and other officers.
“I told her I wasn’t going to do anything to her,” McKinlay told the officers, according to the affidavit.
He was taken into custody without incident and held on 10 percent of $250,000 bail following a preliminary arraignment.
Hoffman told Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Barry Dozor Monday that his client is a co-founder of the MacKnight Foundation theater company in Philadelphia and has performed as an actor in haunted hayrides.
McKinlay had no comment, but did indicate that he is currently on probation for another offense. Online court records indicate he pleaded guilty in Montgomery County to harassment and unlawful dissemination of intimate images in January 2017, for which he received four years of probation.
Dozor explained that a guilty plea here could trigger additional penalties in the Montgomery County case, which McKinlay indicated he understood. He was given credit for time served from June 22 to Feb. 12.