Daniel Nixon, 25, of Hatfield. (Credit: Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department)
Nine felony charges were dismissed against Daniel Nixon of Hatfield Township on Wednesday
A third man has admitted to the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy in Upper Gwynedd Township this week and is awaiting sentencing in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
Daniel Allan Nixon, 26, of Hatfield Township, pleaded guilty to felony statutory sexual assault on Wednesday before Common Pleas Judge Steven T. O'Neill.
Nine other felony charges were dismissed against Nixon at the hearing: Rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, corruption of minors, child pornography, and soliciting child pornography, according to court documents.
Nixon, who was arrested in July, awaits sentencing and a sexual offender assessment by the state. He was represented by defense attorney Gregory Mitsch.
Nixon has been incarcerated at Montgomery County jail on $105,000 cash bail since July.
According to the criminal complaint, Nixon and the boy began communicating on the Grindr app — and later Discord — in August 2023. Police allege the communications were sexual in nature, including Nixon soliciting nude photos of the boy, and they agreed to meet in-person the following day.
Nixon picked up the boy in his father’s vehicle, and after riding around the neighborhood for a short period, he sexually assaulted the boy inside the vehicle, police said. Nixon then said he had to get home to his father, dropped the boy off, blocked him on Discord and never spoke to him again.
Police said they traced the digital communications and IP addresses to accounts belonging to Nixon and his home along the unit block of Park Avenue in Hatfield Township. The victim also positively identified Nixon out of a photo lineup as part of the investigation..
The overall investigation began on Sept. 7, 2023 when a 12-year-old boy was reported missing to Upper Gwynedd Police.
Officials said a review of the boy’s iPad showed he had been involved in sexual communications with 24-year-old Nicholas Benotto, of Doylestown, and the two had agreed to meet at the time the boy was last seen.
While driving with the boy, Benotto was contacted by a family member who informed him that police wanted to speak with him regarding the boy’s whereabouts, investigators said. Benotto then drove to the William Penn Inn, where police took custody of the boy and conducted a preliminary investigation with Benotto, according to the criminal complaint.
Benotto told investigators that he met the boy on the Grindr dating app the previous day, with the boy claiming to be 18 years old, police said. Benotto added he and the boy engaged in sexual communications, sent each other explicit photos, and then agreed to meet, according to charging documents.
Throughout his interviews with police, Benotto maintained he didn’t know the boy was 12 years old, and messages sent by Benotto to the boy included “Can you prove your age,” “How old are you,” and “School id, or something,” according to charging documents. Benotto also claimed the boy said he had lost his wallet and driver’s license, so he was unable to verify his age, police said.
As a result of the investigation, Benotto was charged with felony counts of attempted statutory sexual assault, possession of child pornography, solicitation of child pornography, and corruption of minors.
As the investigation unfolded, police said they conducted a forensic download of the boy’s phone and iPad, which allegedly showed additional sexual communications with other men, including 24-year-old Joseph Slover, of Towamencin, 21-year-old Tristan Anderson, of Upper Providence, and 31-year-old Brock Tharp, of Bally.
Tharp was sentenced to state prison this week. Slover was sentenced to state prison in November.
Anderson's docket has not been updated since a pre-trial conference in January.
Benotto has a pre-trial conference scheduled for March 31.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
