A former Horsham Clinic staffer is headed to jail after pleading guilty to soliciting nude photos from a former juvenile patient.
Tayib Inniss, 26, of Drexel Hill, pleaded guilty last week to five felony counts of soliciting child pornography, five felony counts of knowingly permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sex act, and one misdemeanor count of corruption of minors, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. A total of 70 other counts and charges were dropped in exchange for Inniss’ plea, court records show.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Virgil Walker sentenced Inniss to 11½ to 23 months in county jail, followed by eight years’ probation. Inniss will also have to register as a sex offender for 25 years under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act – formerly known as Megan’s Law, court records show.
Additional sentencing notes indicate Inniss will be placed on sex offender supervision upon his release, and he is to avoid contact with the victim and have no unsupervised contact with minors. He must also forfeit his cell phone to Hatfield Police, undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation, and comply with all recommendations, according to court documents.
The investigation began in September 2021, after investigators with the Hatfield Township Police Department received a ChildLine referral regarding the possible sexual abuse of a 16-year-old female living in the township.
Police said the teen’s mother had discovered that her daughter was engaged in some sort of relationship with a male staffer she had met while in treatment at the inpatient behavioral and emotional hospital in the spring. She said the two had since exchanged nude images of themselves and had unsuccessfully made arrangements for a sexual encounter, according to police.
Investigators conducted a forensic interview of the victim on Sept. 14, 2021, at which point she identified the staffer as Inniss, according to the criminal complaint. The victim told police that Inniss slipped her his phone number with a note that said "shh…” as she was being discharged from the facility, and what began as friendly conversation quickly turned sexual, according to the complaint.
The report states that Inniss told the victim that he wanted to watch her shower while she was at the facility, but there were too many people around. After expressing concern about the victim’s age, police said Inniss requested nude photos of the victim, which she sent. Inniss also sent the victim photos of his genitals, as well as videos of him having sex with other women, according to the complaint.
Police said they could not determine if the girls in the alleged videos were adults or juveniles.
Inniss and the victim later arranged to meet for "car sex,” however Inniss was unable to make it, the report states. Communication between the two deteriorated from that point, as Inniss had learned that the victim had told several friends — who were also former patients of the Horsham Clinic — about her relationship with Inniss, according to the complaint.
In the weeks that followed, Inniss sent a handful of text and audio messages to the victim expressing concern that their relationship could be made public and requesting that she delete the messages and conversations, the report states. In one message dated Aug. 19, 2021, Inniss said "I think its best we just not communicate at all at this point, and I put it on my mom everything you ever sent to me is gone for months now,” according to the complaint.
When police served search warrants on Inniss’ Snapchat and Apple accounts, however, they recovered "numerous photos and videos of the victim” either partially or fully nude, as well as their text history, according to the complaint.
As a result of the investigation, Inniss was charged in January 2022 with 26 felony counts of criminal solicitation of child pornography, 26 felony counts of knowingly permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sex act, 26 felony counts of possession of child pornography, one felony count of attempted unlawful contact with a minor, one felony count of disseminating sexually explicit material to a minor and a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors.
Inniss remained from on $50,000 unsecured bail throughout the court proceedings.
When reached for comment following Inniss’ arrest, an official with the Horsham Clinic said the facility conducted an investigation as soon as they became aware of the allegations, adding Inniss was initially placed on administrative leave, however he has since been terminated.
"We have stringent policies in place for background checks, hiring and training of all employees,” said Kim Whitelock, CEO and Managing Director of the Horsham Clinic. "We condemn the behavior allegedly displayed by the individual, as it is inconsistent with our standards and values.”
"The Horsham Clinic remains fully committed to our mission of providing high quality treatment programs and services to patients with special, and sometimes complex, mental health needs,” Whitelock said.
See also:
Man Pleads Guilty to Repeated Indecent Assault of Elderly Woman Who is Blind, Deaf and Mute
Cleaning Contractor Sentenced to Probation for Stealing More Than $15,000 from Merck Employees
Man Strikes Plea Deal in 2021 Halloween Party Assault in Chalfont
Trial Scheduled for Lansdale Man Accused of Killing Ex’s New Boyfriend
Man Who was Tased While Running Through Children’s Soccer Game Pleads Guilty to Charges
