A 53-year-old Lewistown man is being held in the Mifflin County Correctional Facility after police say he engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with a person he believed was a 14-year-old boy, then discussed meeting up with him in Lewistown. Richard Lynn now faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge tied to the alleged exchange, which investigators say unfolded between August 5 and August 11.
According to The Sentinel, Lynn and a user identified as “Chaz” first connected through the Taimi dating app before moving their conversation to text messages. Police obtained those messages as part of their investigation, per the affidavit of probable cause cited by the outlet. Chaz was presented to Lynn as a 14-year-old boy, and the conversation allegedly became sexual in nature.
What the Affidavit Describes
Lynn told investigators that Chaz had disclosed being 14, and that he had initially intended to end the conversation once he learned Chaz was not 18. But police allege Lynn continued communicating with Chaz after being told his age, and that he kept texting even after Chaz asked to remain friends. The affidavit also states that Lynn discussed meeting Chaz if Chaz came to Lewistown.
Police first contacted Lynn by phone on August 12, and Granville Township investigators interviewed him at their station two days later, on August 14. During that interview, Lynn acknowledged communicating with Chaz and admitted to saying inappropriate things of a sexual nature, according to the affidavit. Investigators advised him of his Miranda rights and asked him to show them his phone.
Digital Evidence and a Blocked Conversation
The original Taimi conversation was no longer accessible because Chaz had blocked Lynn, the affidavit states. Investigators instead photographed the remaining text messages on Lynn's phone and compared them with messages previously provided to police, building the evidentiary basis for the charges filed against him.
Granville Township Police Department, which led the investigation, serves a 40.9-square-mile area of Mifflin County with more than 4,600 residents, according to Granville Township. Taimi's own terms of service restrict account creation and use of the app to people 18 and older, according to Taimi, underscoring that any underage profile on the platform would violate its own rules.
The Charges and What They Carry
Lynn faces a felony count of attempted corruption of minors, a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility, and a misdemeanor count of attempted corruption of minors. Under Pennsylvania law, corruption of minors involving a sexual offense is graded as a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison, a $15,000 fine, and a 15-year sex offender registration requirement under the state's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, according to the Zuckerman Law Firm.
The communication-facility charge, filed when a phone or internet-connected device is used to facilitate a felony, is also a third-degree felony with a maximum seven-year sentence and $15,000 fine, per CaseMine. The misdemeanor count of non-sexual corruption of minors carries a lower maximum of five years and a $10,000 fine and does not require registration, the same law firm's materials note.
Pennsylvania's mistake-of-age defense is narrowly available only when the alleged minor is 16 or 17 years old, and only if the defendant can show by a preponderance of the evidence a reasonable belief the person was 18 or older, per the Zuckerman Law Firm's outline of the statute. That defense would not appear to apply if the person was in fact 14, as police allege. Under the state's criminal attempt statute, prosecutors must show that a defendant took a substantial step toward completing the underlying offense with intent to carry it out, a standard discussed in materials published by the law blog PrinceLaw.
Bail, Booking, and What's Next
Magisterial District Judge Craig A. Weston set Lynn's bail at $50,000, which he was unable to post, resulting in his commitment to the Mifflin County Correctional Facility on August 20. The facility serves as the county's central booking center for fingerprinting, arraignments, and Megan's Law processing, according to county materials.
Lynn's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday before Judge Weston, who handles preliminary arraignments, bail determinations, and preliminary hearings for felony and misdemeanor cases in Mifflin County's magisterial district court. That hearing will not determine guilt — it will decide only whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to establish a prima facie case, sending the charges to the Mifflin County Court of Common Pleas for trial.
