Ex-swim coach accused of violatting Megan’s Law
NORRISTOWN » A former Whitemarsh man and swim coach who served jail time for sending sexually explicit text messages to a teenage girl he once coached and who is awaiting trial on charges he possessed child porn after being paroled, now faces additional charges he failed to report his address to authorities as required by law.
Michael Vincent Dolan, 42, formerly of the 4000 block of Center Avenue in the Lafayette Hill section of Whitemarsh, waived his arraignment in Montgomery County Court and pleaded not guilty to felony charges of failure to verify his address as a registered sex offender under the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, formerly known as Megan’s Law.
The latest investigation began on July 9, when Whitemarsh police received notification from state police that Dolan allegedly did not comply with Megan’s Law requirements to report any changes in address to authorities within three days. Dolan was a registered sex offender, stemming from his 2009 conviction for his contact with the teenage girl he coached.
When police went to the Center Avenue address on July 10, a woman, identified in court papers as Dolan’s exwife, told police that Dolan moved out on Jan. 20 and had not been at the residence since before July 4, according to the arrest affidavit.
“(The woman) permitted me to search the property looking for belongings of Michael Dolan, which to me appeared evident that
Michael Dolan did not live there,” Cotter wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding police checked the area several times over the course of several days. “Michael Dolan nor his registered vehicles were ever observed at that address.”
Cotter said any changes in address must be reported by a sexual offender within three days. Dolan last verified his address with state police in September 2019, listing the Center Avenue residence, and had not updated the information despite moving out, authorities alleged.
Dolan, who remains free on bail while awaiting court action, reportedly most recently was living in Philadelphia.
Last December, Dolan was charged with disseminating and possessing child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. Dolan, who is represented by defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III, is currently awaiting trial on those charges.
That December arrest came 10 years after Dolan was sentenced, on Nov. 18, 2009, to 1½ to 3 years in the county jail and five years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful contact with a minor for purposes of prostitution and corruption of a minor in connection with incidents that occurred in April 2008 with a 15-year-old girl. At the time, Dolan had just wrapped up his first year as a head coach of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School’s girls swim team. Dolan was terminated from his job after his arrest.
Dolan, according to court records, was released from jail on Dec. 12, 2011, after serving about two years behind bars.
Dolan completed his probationary sentence as well, but in December he became the subject of a new investigation when Montgomery County detectives received a “CyberTip” from the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force regarding alleged suspicious content found on a Google account linked to Dolan.
Google, according to court documents, uncovered 12 videos and five still photos that allegedly depicted children ages 2 to 14 engaging in sexual acts or poses.
“I reviewed all seventeen files and found that the content was child pornography,” county Detective James J. Reape alleged in the arrest affidavit.
On Dec. 11, detectives, armed with a search warrant, went to Dolan’s then Center Avenue residence and seized his cellphone and a laptop computer, according to the criminal complaint.
A forensic examination of the laptop computer located 137 images of children under 18 years old in various sexual acts, as well as in various stages of undress, detectives alleged in the arrest affidavit.
“No less than 10 of these images were of children under the age of 13 engaged in prohibited sexual acts,” Reape alleged. “Through training and experience, these images were consistent with child pornography.”