A high school athletic director was arrested on Friday for allegedly soliciting a 17-year-old boy for sex.
39-year-old Francis Murphy, the athletic director for Archbishop John Carroll High School, is charged with unlawful contact with minors and corruption of minors.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced the arrest during a press conference in Norristown this morning at 10 a.m.
Murphy, of Bryn Mawr, has been the athletic director at Archbishop Carroll since 1999.
He also coached the boy’s baseball team and was the offensive coordinator of the football team.
Police say that Murphy recruited him at a football camp but that the boy had to leave the school for financial reasons.
"The coach had communicated with him via facebook after he left the school," said Montgomery County D.A. Risa Vetri Ferman.
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"The initial communication was about getting something from the locker. It then turned into a sexual conversation."
Murphy allegedly said, “he’d be his sugar daddy.”
The boy reportedly spoke to his mother after seeing the message who then contacted Police.
Police say that they posed as the boy on facebook to set up a meeting with Murphy at a Bridgeport ice cream shop. Murphy was arrested once he arrived.
Murphy is currently being held on $250,000 cash bail.
The school notified families Monday morning through email.
“The letter conveyed to parents how troubling this news is for the members of our school community,” said Mary E. Rochford, the school’s superintendent.
“It also reaffirmed our pledge to parents that the prevention of child abuse and protection of children is our primary concern."
