A former police chief of the Tyrone Area School District is charged with a number of sex-related crimes in relation with a 16-year-old female student he once coached in softball.
Mark Cummins Frailey, 40, of Spruce Creek is charged with three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children, a felony charge of unlawful use of a computer and three misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors. He is currently free on bail and awaiting a Dec. 18 preliminary hearing.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by state police Trooper Kip Brown, the investigation into Frailey’s alleged activities began on June 17 when the victim and her mother were interviewed by Cpl. Darron H. Stratton at the Hollidaysburg barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police.
During the interview, police said the victim’s mother advised Stratton that Frailey, while employed as a school police officer, also supervised a club known as the Police Explorers and coached the softball team.
She told police Frailey began to drive her daughter home after the different activities and also began calling their residence. She told police that she had asked Frailey to stop these actions, but Frailey continued to do so.
She also told police, according to the affidavit, that Frailey once picked her daughter up at 5:30 a.m. for a “school-related breakfast.” She later learned there was no such breakfast being held in the district.
She said on June 16, her daughter’s cell phone rang and when she answered it, discovered Frailey was the caller..
According to the affidavit, the juvenile girl admitted that in mid to late May, Frailey “French kissed” her at a spot located along state Route 453 just past the Grier School for girls. She also said she met him there again on June 12 and they again French kissed. She also said they began rubbing each other’s genital area through their clothing.
On June 18, Stratton interviewed Frailey, who first denied the allegations, but later said the only thing that happened between him and the victim occurred with her consent after she turned 16 years old. After this interview, Stratton contacted the victim’s mother who said her daughter admitted that she had sexual intercourse with Frailey one week prior to their conversation.
On June 25, the victim and her mother met with Stratton and Brown at the Family Services office in Altoona and the victim advised that she did have sex with Frailey on three separate occasions. She said these incidents all occurred at his residence in his bedroom. The mother and daughter also noted that Frailey used to e-mail and instant message the girl from both the school computer and his personal computer at home.
According to the affidavit, Frailey admitted his sexual encounter by stating to a Tyrone resident that he made a mistake and had intercourse with a 16-year-old girl and that he wasn’t worried because the police can only arrest him for corruption of minors because he waited for the girl to turn 16 years of age. Frailey also told the man that he stored all his personal files and records in his garage.
On Aug. 11, Brown served a search warrant on the computer system of the Tyrone School District and recovered a “box” of e-mails directed from Frailey to the girl. Brown also said he served a second warrant on a garage at a property located on West 17th Street in Tyrone and found newspaper clippings, two VCR tapes, a letter from an attorney, an official police book and a folder entitled “Personal.”
Seven days later, Brown, with permission from the victim’s mother, analyzed the family’s personal computer. There, two Instant Message screen names were found – mcf646col and mcfrailey.
The last search warrant was served in October. At Frailey’s home, a 2003 date book was found, eight floppy disks, a certificate issued to the victim, a birthday card, a printed e-mail message, four pages of written notes, seven compact discs and a photo display of the victim.
Frailey was released on $25,000 unsecured bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 18 before District Magistrate Daniel Davis in Alexandria.
