Montco man banned from Craigslist

A Montgomery County judge has banned a sex offender from Craigslist until 2022 because the man allegedly used Craiglist to meet underage boys for oral sex.

In February 2015, Edward P. Lippincott corresponded with someone through his Craiglist ad whom he believed to be a 14-year-old boy. But the “boy” actually was an undercover officer engaged in a sting operation.

Lippincott, 38, was arrested Feb. 26, 2015, after traveling to a location in Upper Providence Township, where he thought he would meet the boy. Prior to his arrest, Lippincott allegedly emailed a photograph of his erect penis to the undercover officer, and said he’d provide oral sex in an “amazing” and “awesome” manner.

The undercover officer emailed a photograph of a young boy to Lippincott, which Lippincott said looked “sexy as hell,” according to court papers.

In October, Lippincott pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to perform deviate involuntary sexual intercourse. 

In return, the Montgomery County D.A.’s Office dropped two other felony charges: unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.

On April 1, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Garrett D. Page sentenced Lippincott to 15 months of incarceration.

With credit for time served, Lippincott is expected to be released shortly from the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville. As of presstime, he remained incarcerated.

Lippincott must perform 50 hours of community service and report his address to state police for the rest of his life. Page didn’t designate Lippincott as a violent sexual predator. But he said Lippincott can’t have unsupervised contact with minors during his sentence.

Paige also said Lippincott must receive outpatient mental-health services through the Lenape Valley Foundation, based in Doylestown.

Geoffrey D. Hood, an attorney for Lippincott, was pleased with the sentence.

“I think Judge Page handed down a fair sentence,” Hood told PGN. “He considered all of the positive information that we presented regarding Mr. Lippincott. Mr. Lippincott was very remorseful for his actions and hopes to move forward with his life after this difficult experience.”

Montgomery County District Attorney Sophia G. Polites also expressed satisfaction with the sentence.

“I do respect the sentence that was handed down by the judge,” Polites told PGN. “I do feel that justice was served in this case. Mr. Lippincott pleaded guilty, he’s spent 13 months in jail and he’ll have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.” 

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Tim Cwiek has been writing for PGN since the 1970s. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from West Chester State University. In 2013, he received a Sigma Delta Chi Investigative Reporting Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his reporting on the Nizah Morris case. Cwiek was the first reporter for an LGBT media outlet to win an award from that national organization. He's also received awards from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, the National Newspaper Association, and the Keystone Press.