LANCASTER COUNTY — A 37-year-old Lancaster man has been charged with three counts of corruption of minors after admitting to contacting juveniles on various social media outlets and paying them for their worn socks and pictures of their bare feet for the purposes of sexual gratification, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by Manheim Township Police.
Christopher Lee Minnier, of Glen More Circle, told police he knew the juveniles through his duties as an EMS for Manheim Township Youth Football, according to the complaint.
He allegedly contacted the juveniles between Sept. 9 and Oct. 1, using either SnapChat, Instagram or Facebook Messenger, police say. During these communications, Minnier requested pictures of their bare feet for the purpose of sexual gratification and offered to purchase pairs of their worn socks for $50 each, according to the complaint.
Minnier met the juveniles at Neffsville Park to purchase the socks, police say.
Sometime between Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, Minnier
On Oct. 2, Minnier contacted Manheim Township Police regarding alleged harassment. During that meeting, police say, Minnier provided the following information:
- Minnier admitted to contacting the juveniles through social media to request photos of their feet. He also offered to buy a pair of socks from each of the juveniles for $50 each.
- Sometime within the previous week, Minnier admitted he met the youths and paid them for the socks.
- The juveniles also sent Minnier pictures of their bare feet.
- On Oct. 1, Minnier said, he began receiving SnapChat messages from a third juvenile, who told Minnier “he knew what (Minnier) was doing” and wanted “$500, or else he would tell the police and Minnier’s employer that he was speaking to underage children.
- Minnier said he paid the third juvenile $500 via Paypal.
- The juvenile then asked for more money, according to Minnier, who then contacted police to report the incident.
Police say Minnier gave them consent to search his cell phone, where they found messages between Minnier and the third juvenile. In one message, the juvenile told Minnier he’d go to Minnier’s employer, the media, and police if Minnier didn’t pay him $2,000. The message was received at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 2, police say.
Other messages recovered from Minnier’s phone confirmed Minnier knew the first juvenile was 15 years old when he was contacting him. In other messages, Minnier told the juveniles he bought the socks from that he needed permission from their parents to contact them because they were underage.
In one SnapChat message recovered by police, Minnier allegedly told the juveniles they needed to “stop telling everyone about the feet thing…it’s not funny and I could get in trouble.”
Police say they contacted the third juvenile, who told them Minnier asked him to send photos “below the neck and above the knee” and offered to give the juvenile $100 for his worn socks.
The juvenile said he did not send Minnier any photos.
