SAN ANGELO, TX – This morning, former General Manager of Rosa’s Café, David Kent Phillips, 57, pleaded guilty to the charge of Online Solicitation of a Minor under the age of 14, a second degree felony.
At 9:00 a.m. this morning, Phillips pleaded guilty in front of Judge Jay Weatherby after waiving the right to a grand jury.
“How do you plead for the charge of Online Solicitation of a Minor under the age of 14?” Judge Weatherby asked.
“Guilty,” replied Phillips.
In attendance were two of Phillips’ four children. The state, represented by Assistant District Attorney Meagan White, began the hearing by calling Sergeant Gary Cole, an investigator with the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office (TGSCO), to the witness stand.
Sgt. Cole and several other investigators with the TGCSO were members of a team who searched for older adults soliciting minors at the time of Phillips’ offense. For this case, Cole and his team members posed as a female Craigslist member seeking a male with the following ad:
“Sub-SA. On break, WFM Grapecreek. What’s up, Craigslist? … HMU if you want, I’m in San Angelo.”
*WFM: Woman for Man / HMU: Hit Me Up
On December 21, 2016, a reply came. At around 2 p.m. on the 21st of December, Phillips replied, “Older daddy looking for play toy … “
To which the investigators replied, “Play toy? Do tell!”
Phillips replied (undedited) “55, divorced daddy … I want to explore every inch of your body … if you’re not compliant I’ll have to give you a good spanking.” Further explicit details, such as wanting to use other private body parts, were revealed during the court proceedings at this point.
The conversations between Phillips and the ‘young female’ were strictly done via Craigslist email for several hours on December 21, before the two parties moved to personal emails, recalled Sgt. Cole.
In a reply to Phillips’ email, the undercover (UC) who was posing as an Amber Goodman, replied, “I’m nearly 14, but I’ve been told I look way older.”
White further asked Sgt. Cole, “Did the sexual [language] cease [after the age of the female was revealed]?”
“No,” replied Cole. “A series of emails [went] back and forth to about 8:02 p.m., [until] we provided him with a fake telephone number; and at 8:05 p.m., [we] received a text message.”
The UC and Phillips communicated via text message until 9:30 that evening. Sgt. Cole said Phillips was told that Amber was attending Glenn Middle School.
“Nothing [was said] to ever suggest she was older than [14]?” asked White.
“No,” replied Sgt. Cole.
Phillips continued to speak with the UC the next morning by sending a picture accompanied with, “Good morning, are you up yet?” Sgt. Cole noted that throughout the email threads and text messages, various pictures accompanied the conversation. Pictures from Phillips varied from pictures of himself to pictures of various sex toys.
On December 22, 2016, the UC and Sgt. Cole’s team made the choice to give Phillips a call to ask to meet up, to which Phillips repeatedly requested, “Send more revealing photos.”
To highlight this contact, the State played a C.D. audio recording for the court. In the recording, the UC says, “I thought we’d meet in person; that’s better than a pic […]”
“[I] got to go to work … the age thing has got me scared,” replied Phillips, who continued to ask ‘Amber’ about her family and the work schedule of the imaginary grandmother she lived with.
When the UC told Phillips that her apartment was close to the bowling alley on Knickerbocker Road, Phillips said, “I don’t live that far away … send me a pic.”
Again, Phillips addressed the female’s age, and recalled that previously another San Angelo man had been “picked up for underage solicitation."
"Are you a member of law enforcement, or affiliated in any way?” questioned a paranoid Phillips.
Eventually, the two parties decided to meet at the bowling alley on Knickerbocker Road. Phillips was surrounded, detained, and taken into custody for questioning.
In another C.D. audio recording, Sgt. Cole was heard questioning Phillips. He asks him why he was talking to a 14-year-old.
Phillips stated, “I let my fantasies run wild. I should’ve stopped picking up a girl; I shouldn’t have. I was in the wrong 100 percent. I want to do [what needs to be done] to keep my job … I have never messed with a minor; I am not a pedophile.”
He pleaded, “[I’m] just an old man … I’ve never approached [or] looked at a minor; that’s not me.”
Phillips court appointed attorney, John Sutton, then began asking Sgt. Cole questions.
“No child porn was found on the phone. Did you search [my client’s] apartment?”
“No,” replied Sgt. Cole.
“Didn’t y’all place that call because you all thought you were losing him?” Sutton asked.
“Yes,” answered Cole.
“There were times he was silent and contemplating [during the phone conversation]?” Sutton questioned.
“Yes,” the Sergeant responded.
The witness was then passed to White.
White read several texts aloud by Phillips.
She read, "First off, we have to meet without either of us getting in trouble. If you change your mind [and tell], I can end up in jail for a long time. I’m willing to [meet] and teach you everything there is to know about sex."
White asked Sgt. Cole if these texts were true to have occurred. Sgt. Cole said they were.
The state rested after that.
After a 10-minute break, Phillips was called to the witness stand. He began to describe his life during the time of December 2016. After divorcing his wife of 24 years, he witnessed his life shatter around him. He recalled that during his married life, he and his family would attend a Mormon based church in San Angelo. Phillips explained that he was “very involved,” as was his wife, but, after the divorce, he “turned to porn.”
Sutton further asked, “How do those recordings make you feel?”
“I’m ashamed at myself. I am ashamed that I have to sit here…” Phillips began to cry.
“Are you ashamed because of the consequences?” Sutton further asked.
“I’m ashamed I have to sit here and admit all of this in front of my daughters. It’s not what I believe in. I turned to porn … all my life was, was 60-hour work weeks and porn.”
Phillips then began to recount what he has been doing since being arrested in December to show Judge Weatherby that he had changed his ways.
Despite being removed from his church, Phillips said he met with his Bishop to “confess his sins,” and has since visited him every Wednesday evening. He further added that he has been attending church every week, prays 3 – 4 times a day, and is a member of a 12-step porn recovery program at his church. Furthermore, instead of looking at porn, Phillips says that he now looks through numerous news sites instead of porn sites.
When asked about what he was expecting after arriving at the bowling alley, Phillips replied, “I knew it was wrong, from a moral standpoint, and from a legal standpoint. I don’t know. It was never about age; it was about the sex."
“You knew she was 14; why’d you go?” asked Judge Weatherby.
“I went for the sex," Phillips answered. "I did not go on Craigslist looking for a child. Four to five years ago, I met someone underage, and I left.”
Phillips pleaded for Judge Weatherby to give him probation, stating that he is not a predator or repeat offender.
Phillips' daughter took to the witness stand next. At 30 years old, Phillips' daughter is married and has two kids, ages 5 and 2. Upon finding out the crime that her father had committed, she said, “It was really hard; it made me sick.”
She began to cry as she answered the next several questions. Phillips joined, sobbing where he sat at the defendant's table.
“[My father] has lost a lot. He lost his job, his church membership, our respect,” she said.
His daughter also told Judge Weatherby that she is willing to house Phillips should he need a place to stay.
“I wouldn’t offer living with him if I thought he was a predator," she noted. "He’s a good dad.”
Sutton then made his closing statements, saying, “This case is about internal psychology, morals, and bad decisions.”
Sutton did not deny that Phillips' offense was horrific, but he added that prison was not a place “to rehabilitate.” He further highlighted that “Phillips has taken positive steps in his life,” and “he is an excellent candidate for probation.”
State Attorney White, however, noted that there is “a difference between porn and meeting with a 14 year old.” She said it's “terrifying that he doesn’t know what he would have done” had he not been caught at the bowling alley.
Judge Weatherby moved to make his judgment. Based on the evidence submitted, Judge Weatherby found David K. Phillips “guilty of online solicitation of a minor, a second degree felony” and sentenced him to four years in prison. Phillips was advised that he had 30 days to appeal the motion, but Phillips immediately waived the right. He was then taken into custody, and will begin serving his time. His two daughters stood crying as they watched their father being taken away.
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