After a two-day trial, a Dauphin County jury convicted Kelvin Mclean, 49, of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors.  Detective Dory Thompson of Steelton Borough Police Department charged McLean after Dauphin County Children and Youth Services determined that he fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl in 2018.  Under Pennsylvania law, an adult cannot lawfully engage in sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 years of age if there is an age difference of four or more years between them.  In this case, there was a 30 year age difference between the child and the defendant.  Law enforcement authorities became aware of the case when the young girl gave birth to a baby girl at the Harrisburg Hospital and asked that the defendant’s name be put on the birth certificate.  She also told hospital personnel that the father was “much older” than her.  The girl would later tell the police that the defendant was not the father of the child.  In November of 2018, paternity testing ordered by President Judge John F. Cherry established that McLean was the father of the child. 

After the trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle, who prosecuted the case, credited the joint efforts of the medical providers, police and Dauphin County Children and Youth Services.  “The defendant took advantage of a vulnerable young girl.  While she saw this as a May-December romance, there is no doubt that the defendant was preying on her vulnerability.  Had it not been for the efforts of all of those involved with the case, this perpetrator would have gone unpunished for his criminal actions.”  Judge Tully set sentencing for December 16, 2020, after the defendant undergoes an evaluation by the Sexual Offender’s Assessment Board to determine if he should be classified as a sexually violent predator.