A Texas man has pleaded guilty to attempting to corrupt a minor, though the minor in question was actually two adult males posing as a 15-year-old boy.
According to Det. Loretta A. Clark, Jacob Severo, of Houston, Texas, allegedly contacted “the child” through the dating app Grindr. On the other side of the conversation were two members of a Facebook group. The two men engaged in conversations with Severo over the days of Feb. 25 and 26, that were sexual in nature.
Severo eventually agreed to meet with the two males under the auspices he was meeting a 15-year-old child, Clark alleged. As Severo approached the corner of Hawthorne Avenue and Cherry Street in Williamsport, he was met by the two adult males who had posed as the child.
During Severo’s guilty plea before Lycoming County Court Judge Marc Lovecchio, Severo admitted he had taken substantial steps toward meeting someone he believed was 15 years old. Although Severo never met an actual 15-year-old, he admitted he walked toward the address after he had been advised of the supposed minor’s age.
According to Assistant District Attorney Michael Sullivan, the plea bargain was toward the bottom-end of the acceptable range of punishment.
Severo told Lovecchio he had been sexually abused as a child and had grown up in an abusive environment before leaving to attend college in Williamsport. He said he has been diagnosed with PTSD and depression and has been seeing a therapist.
“He comes to this area and knows nobody, gets into the gay community and meets people on apps to later hook up,” Severo’s attorney, Kyle Rude, said.
Rude said the two men recorded a video of Severo, where they humiliated him with a video put on Facebook where they made Severo remove his shirt and do jumping jacks.
Severo’s former bail restricted him from using a cell phone or the internet, however it was modified to allow him to use a cell phone and the internet only for employment reasons.
Severo will be placed on probation for five years, will be registered for 15 years on SORNA II — formerly known as the Megan’s Law registration — with which he will register with Pennsylvania State Police. He will have to return home to Texas as soon as his paperwork in Pennsylvania is completed, as required by the sentence passed by Lovecchio.
