A 29 year old Philadelphia resident is in trouble with the law, after he is accused of sexting back and forth with what he thought was a 14 year old girl. Police in Montgomery County cast a net to try to find child sex predators across the internet. A detective was posing as a 14 year old girl got messaged by Anthony Smith-Sturgis.
As the conversation turned sexual in nature, Smith-Sturgis agreed to meet the girl on City Ave. Police were smart. They kept the meeting spot in Montgomery County. When Smith Sturgis arrived, he was met by detectives who told him that he was not going to be meeting anyone else.
Smith-Sturgis was arrested on Oct. 5, 2023, 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. 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, 2023, Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph A. Smythereduced bail to $10,000 cash. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m., Oct. 18