Nicholas Benotto, 24, of Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States was recently arrested. He is accused of inappropriately communicating with a boy.
On September 7, 2023, the boy, then 12, was reported missing to the police department of Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Three men are accused of sexually assaulting the boy namely Brock Tharp, 31, of Bally, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Joseph Slover, 24, of Towamencin Township, Montgomery County and Tristan Anderson, 21, of Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County.
Nicholas Benotto
On the Grindr dating app, Benotto and the boy engaged in sexual communications, exchanged explicit photos and agreed to meet. The former claimed that he did not know the latter was a minor.
A family member contacted Benotto while he was driving with the boy. The Doylestown man was informed that police wanted to speak with him about the boy’s whereabouts.
Benotto drove to the William Penn Inn in Gwynedd, Lower Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County where police officers took custody of the boy. The Doylestown man was arrested and charged with attempted statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, solicitation of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Bail for Benotto was set at $100,000. On April 18, 2024, he will appear in court before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
Originally from Ivanovca Nouă, Lăpuşna, Moldova, Benotto went to Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown and served as a camp counselor at Camp Curiosity and Curiosity Academy in Doylestown. In December 2018, he entered Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, USA to pursue a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
