LANCASTER, Pa. — The former president of a York County youth softball team pleaded guilty last week to four felony charges related to his attempt to solicit nude photos from a 16-year-old in Lancaster County, court records show.
Jeffrey Tierno Jr., 33, of Dover, was charged last year by Elizabethtown Borough Police, who were alerted to his actions by Spring Garden Township Police.
Tierno Jr. was serving as president of South Central Pennsylvania Softball Inc. but resigned after he was charged on October 10, 2023.
He pleaded guilty last Thursday to criminal solicitation (disseminating photo/film of child sex acts), unlawful contact with a minor (sex abuse), criminal use of a communication facility, and corruption of minors before Lancaster County President Judge Dennis Reinaker.
Tierno Jr. was sentenced to eight months of house arrest with GPS monitoring and must register as a Megan's Law offender, followed by a total of 15 years of probation for his guilty pleas to the latter three offenses, which will run concurrently, court records show.
The defendant was charged in October 2023, when authorities learned he was exchanging explicit messages with the juvenile victim, according to a criminal complaint filed by investigators. The communication occurred through social media on Facebook and Snapchat, according to police.
In a forensic interview with investigators, the juvenile victim said they had become friendly and exchanged messages with Tierno for a few months, but the messages eventually became sexual in nature in early August, according to the complaint.
The juvenile said Tierno offered in a message to send a photo of himself, and asked the juvenile to send a nude photo in return, according to police. The juvenile said they told Tierno that they would not send any photos because it would be child pornography if they did.
Tierno then said he could show the juvenile in person, the victim told police.
In an interview with police, Tierno allegedly admitted to engaging in "inappropriate talk" that included "sexual things" with the juvenile and that he knew the victim was under 18, police said.
He also allegedly admitted that what he did was wrong, that the juvenile indicated they were uncomfortable with the conversation, and that he apologized to the juvenile and stopped communicating, according to the complaint.
