‘Obsession with the youth:’ Whitehall councilman arrested for sexual misconduct with teenage boys

A Whitehall city council member was arrested and charged with two felonies relating to sexual misconduct with minors, Whitehall Police chief Mike Crispen said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Gerald Dixon was arrested and charged on Monday with compelling prostitution and gross sexual imposition. Both counts are felonies. 

He was taken into custody on Monday evening, but was released from jail after an overnight stay Tuesday on his own recognizance.

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Working with the FBI, Whitehall Police uncovered eight alleged victims of Dixon’s, from Ohio, New York and Michigan. His victims were all teenage boys, around the age of 14. He allegedly paid an “underage and cognitively impaired” individual for sex acts. 

Crispen said Dixon’s first crime was committed in 1996, and the victim was “emotionally distraught.”

Police had an easel with drawings of young boys created by Dixon that was present but out of view at the press conference, and they believe some of the pictured individuals are victims of Dixon who have not yet been identified. 

“It’s the obsession with the youth that we are focused on, and the concern that we have is that this is a much broader issue,” he said.  

Dixon’s devices were seized in a search warrant that was executed on Monday. Crispen said more charges may be forthcoming if more information is found.

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