Gregory Nies was on the town council and three-time mayoral candidate. He was well-liked and active in the community. However, he was also preying on children. In 2009, a girl went to the police and told them she had been sent inappropriate messages from someone posing as an 18-year-old woman. The police investigated, found the IP traced back to Nies. A search warrant revealed he had been communicating with several minor girls, posing as a young girl himself to persuade them to send him nude photos. His computer also had child sexual abuse material. They also discovered he was sexually abusing a young girl.
In the end, two girls testified at his sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to several charges. One group of charges arose from his physical sexual abuse of a teenager. She did not have a father and when she did not like how he touched her, he told her “That’s what fathers do.” Another group of charges related to his explicit online conversations with six other teens. Then there were multiple counts of possession child pornography. He pleaded guilty to a total of 22 counts of sexual abuse of children (possessing CSAM), 7 counts of unlawful contact with children, plus 1 count of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault.
In his sentencing hearing, he and his lawyer talked up his community involvement, the hardship prison would cause his family, but not one word of regret or contrition for the victims. The judge noted that his community involvement allowed him to molest more children. His first victim went to the pastor at the church she and Nies attended and to child welfare. No one believed her.
Gregory Nies was a popular guy in his small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. He was active in church, sat on the borough council, and played Santa for town festivities. He was the Little League coach, soccer coach, and involved in so many town activities. His defense lawyer brought this up when it came to sentencing, but what do most of those activities do? They bring predators into contact with children.
- Lancaster Online: Lititz man admits to morals charges
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Lititz, Pennsylvania · Thursday, July 30, 2009