Philadelphia Police arrested a 33-year-old Philadelphia soccer coach on charges of corrupting minors for alleged inappropriate interactions he had with under-aged girls.
Vincent Mickle, of the 3200 block of Teesdale Street in the Mayfair section of Northeast Philadelphia, was arrested after a police investigation into his alleged improper relationships with at least six minors he met online, say police.
Though police are not yet naming the soccer club in which Mickle coached, they said that none of the girls Mickle allegedly pursued were in his soccer league.
The first report against Mickle came in October 2009 after a 16-year-old girl said she had carried on a two-year relationship with the man after meeting him on MySpace.
The girl told police she thought the 33-year-old Mickle was 18 when they first met in 2007. She said the man brought a bottle of vodka to their first in person meeting, according to authorities.
Police say the young teen reported that she continued to have meetings and online chats with Mickle over that two-year period, until he showed up at one of her field hockey games. It was then that she decided to report his behavior, say police.
"He slowly crafted a relationship, you know, contact that was comfortable and eventually it led to requests to meet for sex," Philadelphia Police Capt. John Darby said Tuesday.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Search warrants served on Mickle produced “sexting photos,” e-mails, and alleged proof of at least five other victims.
Sources tell NBC Philadelphia that some of those girls spent the night inside Mickle's home.
Mickel allegedly had sexual contact with “at least one victim,” Capt. Darby said.
The man's neighbors were shocked to hear about the accusations. They called him a good guy who's involved in the community.
"He seemed extemely normal," said one woman. "About as normal as you could get."
Police arrested Mickle on six counts of corrupting the morals of a minor, as well as related charges. He is being held on $300,000 bail.