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Girls’ soccer coach pleads to sex charges

A Northeast man who volunteered as a girls' soccer coach pleaded guilty today to sex-related charges involving six teenage girls he courted via Internet social networking sites for sexual liaisons.

A Northeast man who volunteered as a girls' soccer coach pleaded guilty today to sex-related charges involving six teenage girls he courted via Internet social networking sites for sexual liaisons.

Vincent Mickle, 34, pleaded guilty before Common Pleas Court Judge Harold M. Kane to charges involving conduct between the summer of 2007 through March of 2010 that included sexual intercourse with one 16-year-old girl at his house and meetings with several others ages 14 to 16 who he plied with alcohol or marijuana in unsuccessful attempts at getting them to commit sex acts.

Mickle, a short athletically built man with a buzz-cut haircut, quietly uttered "guilty" as the court crier recited the list of more than a score of charges including criminal solicitation to commit sexual acts with someone under age 16, unlawful sexual contact with minors, criminal solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and child pornography.

Kane set sentencing for Sept. 19, following a Megan's Law review, and Assistant District Attorney Michael Stackow said the charges to which Mickle pleaded guilty could result in what is effectively a life sentence.

"This is the kind of guy who every parent worries about," said Stackow.

Mickle was arrested in March 2010 after a 16-year-old reported his overtures to police. A sometime volunteer soccer coach for Lighthouse Soccer Club, a nonprofit Northeast youth organization, Mickle did not victimize any of the girls he coached, authorities said.

Stackow said Mickle posed as a 17- or 18-year old on MySpace and Facebook, befriended the girls and then began "grooming them" for sexual encounters. In some cases, Stackow said, Mickle sent the girls photos of his penis and other times he asked and received seminude photos of the teens.