Clarence TaylorLANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) -
The state attorney general's office said it has arrested an associate pastor from Lancaster County who is accused of using Facebook and text messages to sexually solicit a 15-year old boy.
Clarence Tyrone Taylor, 26, of Columbia, was taken into custody Thursday and charged with one count of solicitation to commit sexual
abuse of children, a second-degree felony punishable by up to ten years
in prison and a $25,000 fine, according to Attorney General Linda Kelly.
Taylor was also charged with one count of unlawful contact with a
minor and one count of criminal use of a communications facility, both
third-degree felonies punishable by up to seven years in
prison and $15,000 fines.
Kelly said Taylor allegedly made suggestive comments to several
young people in his congregation, prompting parents to approach the
pastor of the church. The pastor
contacted Lancaster County Detectives and the Lancaster City Police
Department, who forwarded the case to the attorney general's office.
According to charging documents, Taylor used Facebook to contact one of the teens and told him he was "cute," commented on his appearance
and suggested they spend more time together. He also
encouraged the boy to contact him by cell phone and to delete
all messages between them.
An
undercover agent assumed the boy's identity and continued to communicate with Taylor, who in a series
of text messages sent an explicit nude photo to the
boy, requesting similar photos in return and suggested they meet
for sex, documents state.
Taylor was being held in Lancaster County Prison on $75,000 bail. He is prohibited from having any contact with
the victim.
