By Bonnie L. Cook
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 18, 2011
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/120065224.html
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| Fran Murphy. (Montgomery County District Attorney's Office) |
Montgomery County officials this morning announced the arrest of Archbishop Carroll High School's athletic director on charges of seeking sexual favors from a former male student in exchange for gifts.
Francis Murphy, 39, of the 1000 block of Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, was arrested Friday morning at the Frosty Falls Ice Cream Shop in Bridgeport when he went to what he thought was a meeting with the youth for sex.
Instead, Montgomery County detectives had taken over the former student's identity on Facebook, and took Murphy into custody at 10:35 a.m.
Murphy, coach and athletic director at the parochial school in Radnor Township since 1999, was charged with unlawful contact with a minor, promoting prostitution, and attempted corruption of minors.
He was arraigned Friday before a district justice and was being held at the Montgomery County prison on $250,000 cash bail.
He can have no contact with the minors or students from Archbishop Carroll, according to a statement from archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna Farrell. The school has placed Murphy on administrative leave pending the outcome of the case, she said.
Farrell said Murphy has been at Archbishop Carroll since 1999, serving as the boys' baseball coach and offensive coordinator of the football team.
She said he previously served as the boys' baseball coach and assistant football coach at Kennedy-Kenrick High School from 1996 to 1998. All of the required criminal background checks and child abuse clearances were in place, Farrell said.
In a letter e-mailed to Carroll parents this morning, officials "reaffirmed our pledge to parents that the prevention of child abuse and protection of children is our primary concern."
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said at a press briefing in Norristown that Murphy recruited the victim at a football camp in ninth grade to attend Carroll.
The youth an 11th grader, had left the school for financial reasons, Ferman said, when he contacted Murphy via Facebook for help in getting his cleats out of the locker room.
Murphy agreed, but the talk turned sexual when Murphy offered the boy gifts such as sneakers and athletic gear in exchange for letting Murphy be his "sugar daddy," Ferman said.
She called Murphy's proposed arrangement between himself and the boy "a quid pro quo."
The boy told his mother, and detectives took over, establishing another Facebook account to communicate with Murphy, Ferman said.
There was never any sexual contact between the two, only the "offer of any ongoing relationship," Ferman said.
The DA said her office knows of no other victims that Murphy might have targeted, but the investigation is ongoing.
"Certainly, we will look to see if there are any other victims out there with similar acts," Ferman said.
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