Brock Tharp, 31, of Bally. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)
Brock Isaac Tharp, of Bally and Pottstown, had sentencing deferred for a sexually violent predator assessment.
The second of five men accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old Upper Gwynedd boy in 2023 pleaded guilty this week to statutory sexual assault.
Brock Isaac Tharp, 32, of the 700 block of Logan Street, Pottstown, and the 600 block of Main Street, Bally, pleaded guilty to the felony in connection with the Aug. 29, 2023 incident, according to court records.
Charges of rape of a child, indecent assault of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a minor and corruption of a minor are expected to be dismissed at sentencing, per The Reporter.
Sentencing is deferred so Tharp can undergo an assessment to see if he meets criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator, per the report. Either way, Tharp will likely have to report his address to state police for life.
Tharp faces up to 20 years in prison on the statutory sexual assault charge. He is currently at Montgomery County jail without bail.
Investigators learned that the boy had engaged in sexual communications with Tharp, and the two arranged to meet on Aug. 29, 2023. In a forensic interview with Mission Kids, the boy stated Tharp had picked him up and drove to a different location, where they had sex in Tharp’s vehicle, the report states. The following day, the boy contacted Tharp to retrieve a personal item left in the vehicle, as well as to arrange another meeting, however the second meeting never took place and Tharp stopped responding to the boy’s messages for a period, police said.
Communication resumed in January after investigators reached out to Tharp using an undercover phone number and posing as the boy, court records show. At that point, sexual communication resumed, and Tharp allegedly discussed the first meeting while requesting some photos of the boy, according to charging documents.
Joseph Slover, 25, of the 300 block of Erie Drive, Towamencin, was the first man convicted in the case, getting a six-year state prison sentence and having to register as a sex offender for the next 25 years.
Joseph Slover, 24, of Towamencin. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)Additional defendants include 24-year-old Nicholas Benotto of Doylestown, 21-year-old Tristan Anderson of Upper Providence, and 25-year-old Daniel Nixon, of Hatfield.
Nicholas Benotto, 25, of Doylestown. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)
Tristan Anderson, 21, of Upper Providence. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)
Daniel Nixon, 25, of Hatfield. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)As originally reported by North Penn Now in April, the investigation began on Sept. 7, 2023 when a 12-year-old boy was reported missing to Upper Gwynedd Police. Officials said a review of the boy’s iPad showed he had been involved in sexual communications with Benotto, and the two had agreed to meet at the time the boy was last seen.
While driving with the boy, Benotto was contacted by a family member who informed him that police wanted to speak with him regarding the boy’s whereabouts, investigators said. Benotto then drove to the William Penn Inn, where police took custody of the boy and conducted a preliminary investigation with Benotto, according to the criminal complaint.
Benotto told investigators that he met the boy on the Grindr dating app the previous day, with the boy claiming to be 18 years old, police said. Benotto added he and the boy engaged in sexual communications, sent each other explicit photos, and then agreed to meet, according to charging documents.
Throughout his interviews with police, Benotto maintained he didn’t know the boy was 12 years old, and messages sent by Benotto to the boy included “Can you prove your age,” “How old are you,” and “School id, or something,” according to charging documents. Benotto also claimed the boy said he had lost his wallet and driver’s license, so he was unable to verify his age, police said.
Benotto was charged with felony counts of attempted statutory sexual assault, possession of child pornography, solicitation of child pornography, and corruption of minors. He’s currently free on $100,000 cash bail while awaiting his preliminary hearing on Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. in front of Judge Suzan Leonard.
Additional suspects identified as investigation continued
As the investigation unfolded, police said they conducted a forensic download of the boy’s phone and iPad, which allegedly showed additional sexual communications with other men, including Slover, Anderson and Tharp.
Nixon was charged in August. Read more on the case involving Nixon here.
Slover, Anderson, and Tharp were all arrested in the spring as part of the investigation. You can read more on the allegations against those three defendants here, and our coverage of Slover's guilty plea to statutory sexual assault here.
