Judge accused of sexually abusing 12-year-old boy, PA attorney general says
A magisterial district judge in Pennsylvania is accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy at his home in 2012, according to a news release from the state’s attorney general.
Michael Schechterly, 58, of Newport in Perry County, was arrested Monday by Pennsylvania State Police and charged with unlawful contact with children, a third-degree felony, and corruption of minors and indecent assault, both first-degree misdemeanors, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The charges brought against Schechterly originated from an incident in 2012, when the judge had a 12-year-old boy at his home, according to the affidavit.. While the judge and the boy were sitting on the couch and watching TV, Schechterly “reached over and placed his hand on [the victim’s] privates,” the affidavit says.
“Serious allegations show this judge violated the trust that the citizens of Perry County placed in him by sexually abusing a little boy,” Josh Shapiro, the attorney general for Pennsylvania, said in a news release. “There may be other victims ... We will hold the powerful and well-connected accountable to law just like everyone else. My office will investigate and prosecute anyone who abuses their authority to harm Pennsylvanians, no matter what position of power they may hold.”
Schecterly was first investigated in 2015, when a complaint alleged that he “had young boys spending the night at his Magisterial District Court Office” in Newport Borough, according to the affidavit. Police got a search warrant for surveillance videos captured at Schechterly’s office and one of them showed the judge “holding two male children under 10 years of age on his lap.”
“This same video showed the one male child making attempts to remove himself from Judge Schechterly’s lap while being prevented from doing so by Schechterly,” the affidavit says.
During the 2015 investigation, a complainant also “reported that Judge Schechterly had pornographic videos in his office,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators found “notable videos depicted young females engaged in BDSM type sexual activity and appeared as being sexually assaulted or abused [were] found on DVDs in the judge’s office,” the affidavit says.
The judge was not charged following the 2015 interview, according to the affidavit.
The new accusations surfaced in March 2019, when a complainant contacted authorities to say he suspected that Schecterly had inappropriate contact with a 12-year-old boy, according to the affidavit. The complainant said the boy told him that the judge was “a weird guy” and would walk around while scratching his private area.
In a June 2020 interview, Schechterly admitted to investigators that he had a porn addiction and masturbated regularly in his office, the affidavit says. He “indicated that he could not say he had never masturbated while a child was in his care or in his home,” according to the affidavit.
“Schechterly admitted that he was consumed by it, even affecting his time, thoughts and views on women,” the affidavit says.
Schechterly confirmed that the boys who slept over at his office were part of a church program in which Schechterly was a leader, according to the affidavit. He was known as “Commander Mike,” and he “made contact with many children” this way, the news release says.
Schechterly also worked as a teacher in Halifax for three years and also worked for a year as a long-term substitute, the affidavit says. He also worked at a Christian academy for eight years, according to the affidavit.
“Protecting our children is of the utmost importance,” said Captain Matthew Nickey, commander of the Pennsylvania State Police, in the AG’s news release. “The citizens we serve can be reassured that the Pennsylvania State Police work tirelessly to provide a fair and complete investigation. I would like to thank all of the agencies who assisted in this case.”
If you have any information about Schechterly, you can contact the Pennsylvania State Police at 717-881-6937.
