TikTok celeb avoids prison time for illegal sexual conduct
A Lima man who had attained a moderate level of celebrity on the social media platform TikTok will escape prison time despite pleading guilty Thursday to third- and fourth-degree felony charges of gross sexual imposition.
Through his pleas entered in Allen County Common Pleas Court, Joshua McPheron, 32, admitted having unwanted sexual contact with one person under the age of 13 and another who was between the ages of 13 and 16. The acts are said to have occurred between March and August of 2020.
McPheron is scheduled to be sentenced June 13. As part of an agreement between the state of Ohio and McPheron’s attorney, Kenneth Rexford, the Lima man will be sentenced to an unspecified term of community control. A key provision of that sentence is that McPheron must complete a program for sex offenders at the River Center Correctional Center in Hamilton County.
If McPheron fails to complete the program or violates other conditions of his probation he faces up to 6 1/2 years in prison.
Assistant Allen County Prosecuting Attorney Destiny
Caldwell said the plea deal was initiated by McPheron and was approved by the victims in the case and their family members. As a Tier II sex offender he will be required to register with local authorities every six months for the next 25 years.
Posting as TheDadofTikTok, McPheron reportedly had more than 500,000 followers on the popular social media platform at the time of his indictment in June of 2021. In addition to the two gross sexual imposition charges, the grand jury had returned a misdemeanor charge of sexual imposition, which was dismissed by prosecutors in exchange for McPheron’s plea.
According to the website distractify.com, McPheron has made almost daily videos with jokes about everyday life and being a parent and posted them to TikTok. He uses many of the app’s popular sounds in his content to make his comedy content.
At the time of his arrest, many of his most recent videos had tens of thousands of views but significantly fewer likes, and the comments are filled with people asking about the charges brought against him. He did not respond to any of the comments, according to Distractify.