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Anthony Smith-Sturgis reached out to "the girl" on a social media app on Oct. 4, saying he wanted to meet "the queen behind the smile," and that he was a single dad, sous chef, and future massage therapist, according to exchanges in a criminal complaint released by the office of Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele.
"Huh?" the detectives reply.
"I think your cute lol is all I'm saying," Smith-Sturgis replies, adding he's 4/20 friendly before asking the girl to tell him about herself.
"Well I'm young, white, and down for whatever," the detectives say.
The following exchanges ensues:
The detectives then ask if he's okay with the fact that she's young. Smith-Sturgis assumes she's 18. The "girl" never gives him an exact age but says she's old enough to know what she's doing, and invites him to text off the app.
"The girl" in a text tells Smith-Sturgis she's 14. He asks, "How are you even getting out of your house lol." He asks "the girl" to direct him on where to meet her, and she directs him to East City Avenue, the messages show.
The last few exchanges show "the girl" asking Smith-Sturgis what kind of car he drives. He describes it and she says, "Ok, I'll walk over."
Smith-Sturgis was arrested the following day, on Oct. 5, and charged with felony Contact with a Minor—Sexual Offense, Attempted Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse, Attempted Statutory Sexual Assault and Criminal Use of a Communications Facility as well as related misdemeanor charges including Corruption of Minors.
"Smith-Sturgis engaged in sexually explicit electronic communications with a person they believed was a minor girl," the DA said, noting the Philadelphia man then showed up on City Avenue in Lower Merion, intent on having sexual relations with the minor.
He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Maurice H. Saylor, who set bail at $99,000 cash. During a bail review hearing on Oct. 6, Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph A. Smythe, who reduced bail to $10,000 cash. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m., Oct. 18, before Magisterial District Judge Karen Eisner Zucker.
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