Archbishop Carroll High Athletic Director Behind Bars On Child Sex Charges

RADNOR, Pa. (CBS) - The Athletic Director at Archbishop Carroll Catholic High School in Radnor is under arrest because authorities say he tried to have a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student.

Montgomery County detectives arrested Fran Murphy, 39, in a sting on Friday morning at the "Frosty Falls" ice cream shop in Bridgeport. Murphy thought he was meeting the student in the parking lot there.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman says the student, a football player, had recently left Archbishop Carroll for financial reasons, but he left some personal items in his athletic locker. He sent Murphy, who also serves as an assistant football coach, a Facebook message in an effort to retrieve those items, but Ferman says Murphy turned the conversation sexual.

"The coach suggested he could be this boy's 'Sugar Daddy,'" Ferman said. "He was offering basically a quid pro quo: 'I will get you the things that you need if you will engage in these sexual acts with me.'"

Detectives assumed the teen's identity on Facebook and set up a meeting with Murphy who was arrested at the Bridgeport ice cream shop.

Ferman says Murphy offered to buy the boy gifts or give him cash in exchange for sexual favors. She says county detectives will now comb through Murphy's computer and phone records looking for any other potential victims.

Murphy is now being held on $250,000 bail and is charged with corruption of minors and unlawful contact with minors. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says he has been placed on leave as this investigation unfolds. E-mails are going out to school families making them aware of the arrest.

Reported by Suburban Bureau Chief Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060; Ben Simmoneau, CBS 3