A Center City attorney accused of paying for and having sex with a 14-year-old girl, repeatedly, in his office is scheduled to be in a Philadelphia court room Wednesday.
Brian Meehan will be in court for his preliminary hearing on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, promoting prostitution of a minor and related offenses.
He was arrested in Nov. 2014 following an investigation by a Philadelphia grand jury that revealed the sex trafficking story of a Germantown teen. She was lured by a couple in her own neighborhood and sold for sex to more than 20 men a week, including Meehan, according to District Attorney Seth Williams..
"I believe there's a special place in hell for men like Brian Meehan," said Williams.
In March of 2012, the victim was recruited by the couple, a man and woman who admitted to investigators they were running a prostitution ring out of their home on W. Harvey Street with five girls. During the first week, the teen was given some money by the couple but the relationship quickly turned violent and threatening. According to the teen's grand jury testimony, the couple sexually assaulted, beat and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave.
The victim testified she was taken on "out-calls" to Meehan's office in One Penn Center at 16th and JFK Boulevard on numerous occasions. She said they had sex in a conference room with a couch and that Meehan often offered her alcohol, which he drank but she didn't.
According to the grand jury documents, during her visits, "Meehan often talked about his wife and three daughters and the trips they'd taken, even suggesting that she might accompany him for travel."
When investigators searched Meehan's office in October, they cut out portions of the couch and a chair where investigators said they used ultraviolent light to detect bodily fluids. He was fired from Bishop, Dorfman, Lazaroff & Meehan last month. The firm issued a statement Tuesday saying they were shocked, appalled and moved swiftly in terminating Meehan. "Our thoughts are with the victim. We will continue to do everything we can to cooperate with the investigation."
Court documents show hundreds of pornographic websites were found in the history on Meehan's cellphone. Close to three dozen included pornographic videos with "teen" in the title.
According to the victim, Meehan, 56, told her "he liked young girls and the youngest girl he had sex with for money was 12-years-old."
"Nothing is as devastating to a family or as destructive to a life in development of a child as being a victim of sex abuse," Williams said.
Detectives began investigating the victim's case in 2012 after the Germantown couple sold her to a Camden couple for $300. When she arrived at a Camden hospital complaining of severe vaginal pain and discomfort, she told a nurse she was being forced into prostitution. Before police arrived to question her, she left the hospital. When they tried to track her down, they realized hospital staff had been given a fake name.
After that, the 14-year-old was sent back to the Germantown couple, recruited by another pimp and taken to Georgia. She was there for approximately a year before Federal authorities identified her as a victim of sex trafficking and eventually contacted police in Philadelphia.
The Germantown couple has also been arrested and charged with human trafficking, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corrupting the morals of a minor, indecent assault and promoting prostitution of a minor. Their names are not being released until the grand jury completes its investigation.
Photo Credit: Philadelphia District Attorney's Office
