Convicted of two counts of corrupting the morals of a minor, Mark C. Frailey, the former Tyrone Area School District police chief and part-time Tyrone Borough Police officer, was paroled from the Huntingdon County Jail Friday on time served under a plea agreement in which he is to have no contact with the minor victim in the two cases against him.
Credited with 242 days in jail, Frailey, 41, of Spruce Creek, left the Huntingdon County Courthouse late yesterday afternoon after entering a plea of “no contest.” In court, he apologized to those he has hurt and said he wants to remain in the area and work to regain good standing.
“If somebody would have told me two years ago this was about to happen, I’d have told them they were crazy,” said Frailey. “I’ve disappointed a lot of my friends and I’m sorry for that.”
The charges against Frailey date back to June 2003 when the parent of a Tyrone Area School District student began to suspect her daughter, who was 16 at the time, was having a sexual relationship with Frailey. Charges were filed against him in November with a separate complaint of interfering with the custody of children being lodged in January.
Frailey was sentenced to 242 days to 23 months, fined $800 and placed on five years probation — the total of two years in one case and three years in the other. Frailey had been headed to trial before Judge Stewart Kurtz and was to appear in court Monday, Oct. 18, to enter pre-trial motions. That appearance was continued until yesterday with Frailey opting to enter the pleas in a deal District Attorney Robert Stewart III termed “a hybrid of an agreement.”
The commonwealth, DA Stewart told Judge Kurtz, was in agreement with Frailey and his attorney, Thomas Dickey of Altoona, for a sentence of time served and a term of probation in exchange for pleas to the corruption charges, with the commonwealth not pursuing charges of unlawful use of a computer, endangering the welfare of children and the “interfering” charge.
Dickey asked that the probation sentences not be consecutive but served concurrently and asked that the period of probation not contain the “no contact” condition once the juvenile girl reaches age 18, in 19 days. Dickey also suggested that the victim, who was in the courtroom with family members, could have a hearing in the judge’s chambers, when she turns 18, to determine when the “no contact” clause should be lifted.
“We’ve always believed this activity was consensual,” said Dickey. “But the law’s the law and we’re here.”
“My client has no prior record. I would submit my client has been adequately punished,” Dickey added.
Stewart said Frailey should be under supervision for as long as possible. He said the defendant’s effect on the victim, who is in counseling, will not go away overnight and said Frailey “groomed” the victim in order for the criminal activity to take place.
“A 42-year-old man had an improper relationship with a girl, who is a child. People who do this sort of stuff tend to repeat their crimes,” Stewart said.
Judge Kurtz said he believes the “no contact” provision is mandatory under the state statute and ruled in favor of the lengthier term of probation. Kurtz also explained to Frailey the rights he gave up by entering a plea.
