CLEARFIELD – A Bigler man accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl he had been chatting with online pleaded guilty to lesser charges Monday during sentencing court.
Christopher Ryan Swoope, 24, was also originally charged with interference with custody of children, concealment of whereabouts of child, corruption of minors, and criminal use of communication facility, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor luring child into vehicle and indecent assault forcible compulsion in connection with his actions in September 2024.
He pleaded guilty to felony corruption of minors, felony criminal use of communication facility and misdemeanor indecent assault. Judge Paul E. Cherry sentenced him to serve eight months to two years less one day in the county jail with three years concurrent probation.
It was noted by Assistant District Attorney Cynthia V. Lose-Morgan that Swoope had an evaluation that determined he did not fit the classification of a sexually violent predator. He will still have to register with law enforcement under Megan’s Law.
Swoope must also complete sex offender counseling, comply with his medical treatment and is to have no unsupervised contact with any female under the age of 18.
Prior to sentencing, Swoope’s attorney, Chris Pentz stated that there were no threats or anything done by force in this case. He added that at the time, Swoope was not taking his medication properly.
Pentz also pointed out that if Swoope was sent to state prison, he would never be released once his minimum sentence was done. He asked Cherry to give Swoope a county sentence.
Cherry said Swoope was getting a “huge break” both with the charges and the county sentence. He added that he will not hesitate to send him to state prison if he does not comply with the terms of his probation.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were notified on Sept. 28 by the girl’s parents that their 14-year old daughter had “eloped” with an adult male about 30 minutes earlier. They were able to give a description of the vehicle used by the man.
They explained they had taken the victim’s phone the prior day and noticed that she had been speaking with a man named Chris on Snapchat. Both parents said they did not know who this man was, but thought he was 22-years-old.
The relationship was discovered by a woman whose daughter got a message from the victim saying the pair was going to South Carolina. This woman had notified the victim’s parents.
When investigators searched the victim’s phone they found several messages from Swoope about an hour earlier saying he was coming to get her and asking why she wasn’t answering.
Through this social media platform, police were able to see that Swoope was in the area of Morrisdale. State police were called to assist at this point and they stopped Swoope’s vehicle near where he was suspected to be located. The girl, who was not with him, was later found at another residence.
Police interviewed the girl who admitted she met Swoope through a friend and they had been talking online for about two weeks. She said he was “helping” her with her situation with her parents who were “strict and controlling”. She contacted him through another “burner” phone and asked him to pick her up in Clearfield Borough that day.
After she was in his vehicle, they drove away and then parked. She reported that he placed her hand on his private area and he placed his hand high on her thigh, asking if he could go higher. When she said no, he pulled his hand away.
She said she didn’t want him to get into trouble but admitted that she was planning on going with him to South Carolina for two months to get away from her parents.
She mentioned that he told her “he wanted to get her pregnant.”
In his interview with investigators, Swoope stated he saw the girl on Snapchat and connected with her there. They also spoke on the phone during the few weeks they were in contact. He claimed she told him she was 17 years old.
He further stated that he had picked her up several times and was teaching her how to drive.
On this particular day, he picked her up and then they went to his garage where the sexual encounter occurred, he told police. He admitted to touching her inappropriately and to her touching him. He stopped because he “knew it was wrong”.
After this he took her to a friend’s residence where she reportedly smoked marijuana. He left her there because he had something else to do and was on his way back to the home when he was stopped by police.
He admitted that they were planning on going to South Carolina where he is employed, assembling amusement rides for fairs. They were going to stay there for a month, he related.
On Swoope’s phone, investigators found three pictures of the victim and the conversations with the girl, according to the criminal complaint.
