SUGARCREEK BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — A Sugarcreek Borough Council member recently resigned his position after criminal charges were filed against him for allegedly sending photos of his genitals to a woman.
Court documents indicate the Sugarcreek Borough Police Department filed criminal charges against 39-year-old Thomas Charles Hartle, of Reno.
According to Sugarcreek Borough Manager Joe Sporer, Hartle was asked to resign last week, and he immediately agreed to resign his position. Hartle was just elected to the council in November as a write-in candidate.
The resignation request was due to pending charges related to allegations of stalking and harassment against Hartle.
According to a criminal complaint, Sugarcreek Borough Police conducted an investigation into a complaint of Thomas Charles Hartle repeatedly having communication with a known victim and causing the victim fear for her safety.
According to the complaint, Hartle allegedly sent two photographs of his genitals to the victim, after being advised the victim did not want any type of sexual photographs. He also reportedly made several statements to the victim over messages asking the victim to respond to the photographs.
The complaint states the victim blocked Hartle from a dating site after Hartle’s initial behavior, and Hartle then made a false profile and made contact with the victim again. When the victim realized the new profile was Hartle, the victim then blocked him again.
According to the complaint, during an interview, Hartle admitted to sending the photos and messages to the victim and said he had deleted the messages from his device.
The following charges were filed against Hartle through Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey’s office on Monday, March 30:
– Stalking — Repeatedly Communicate To Cause Fear, Misdemeanor 1
– Harassment — Communicate Lewd, Threatening, Etc. Language, Misdemeanor 3
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, with Judge Lowrey presiding.
According to Sporer, the council will have 45 days from the day of Hartle’s resignation to fill his seat.
“We will take letters of interest for that seat until April 22. Then, generally what happens is the council will hold a special meeting, which is open to public, to interview potential candidates,” Sporer told ExploreClarion.com.
Sporer noted that the council’s April meeting, which was scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation, and the next regular meeting is scheduled for May 6.
“With everything being shut down until April 30, that will give us from May 1 to May 6 to call a special meeting,” Sporer said.
He also noted that a special meeting would be publicly advertised at least 24 hours in advance.
