BELLEFONTE — Christopher Z. Morelli, a former Centre County journalist who was arrested last winter for allegedly sending sexual messages to an FBI agent he believed to be a teenage girl and to a 14-year-old girl on the youth soccer team he coached, agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge in federal court on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Morelli, 54, of Pleasant Gap, is now facing a federal charge of attempted enticement of a minor. He entered into a plea agreement, waiving indictment by a grand jury. The agreement carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to court records.
Morelli was first arrested on Dec. 20, 2023. He was accused of “unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a telecommunications facility,” according to Spring Township police. The arrest followed an undercover investigation involving the local police department and the FBI.
Morelli engaged in messaging online with an FBI agent he believed to be a 14-year-old girl starting in July 2022, attempting to meet with the teen, engaging in sexual conversation and soliciting explicit pictures over about 18 months, according to the criminal complaint.
At the time of his first arrest, he posted bail of $250,000. He was arrested again by Spring Township police on the morning of Friday, Jan. 5, for new charges which accused Morelli of sending sexual messages and providing alcohol to a 14-year-old girl from the Bellefonte area in 2011.
The charges against Morelli included “solicitation to commit the crime of statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors,” as stated in the criminal complaint. He was denied bail.
According to the affidavit filed by Spring Township police, the victim came forward with the accusations after learning of Morelli’s arrest in December. The victim was a member of a youth soccer team coached by Morelli in 2011.
District Attorney Bernie Cantorna formerly said in January of this year, after Morelli waived his preliminary hearings, that his office was “expecting federal charges” to be filed against Morelli which could cause at least one of the cases to be moved to U.S. District Court.
Three continuances in the case occurred prior to the federal charges against Morelli brought on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
It is unknown if local charges from the case involving the former soccer player will proceed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas.
Morelli is a former Centre County journalist, most recently with The Centre County Gazette, though no longer employed by the publication.
