PILOT POINT, TX – According to a report from The Gateway Pundit, 42-year-old Pilot Point Mayor Matthew McIlravy has resigned from office following an arrest and subsequent charging from earlier in June for allegedly trying to solicit sex from a minor under the age of 14.
Back on May 19th, The Post Signal reported on McIlravy being sworn into office as Pilot Point’s new mayor, and come five weeks into filling that role, he’s already resigning in light of some very serious charges.
Ironically, then-outgoing Pilot Point Mayor Shea Dane-Patterson stated at McIlravy’s swearing-in in May that she felt the city was being left in good hands, telling McIlravy, “I’m very proud of you. You’re going to do great things here. And I pray you don’t have all the craziness that we’ve gone through in the past two years. You’ll do a great job.”
Dane-Patterson added, “I’m sad but excited because I know I’m leaving the city with great plans, a roadmap ahead.”
Clearly, those comments did not age well.
McIlravy announced his resignation on June 23rd, writing in a rather brief letter, “To the Pilot Point City Council and City Manager, I am resigning as mayor of Pilot Point effective immediately.”
The resignation was not shocking considering McIlravy’s recent arrest and felony charge of online solicitation of a minor under the age of 14.
On June 21st, the Dallas Police Department arrested McIlravy as part of an ongoing five-month investigation led by their Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, where authorities noted the existence of “other communications with minors who haven’t been identified. ”
While details on the former mayor’s arrest are limited, the New York Post did reveal that an arrest affidavit specified the minor McIlravy, who is reportedly married with two adopted children himself, was attempting to meet up with was allegedly a 13-year-old girl.
Pilot Point City Manager Britt Lusk issued a statement on the day of McIlravy’s arrest, noting that the now-former mayor was taken into custody at City Hall and referred all other questions to Dallas Police.
“The City’s government is designed to be flexible and resilient. The City will follow applicable state law and the City’s charter to fill any vacancies. In the absence of the Mayor, the City’s charter provides that the Mayor Pro-Tem presides over meetings.”
On the city’s official website, all of McIlravy’s information has already been removed from the city mayor page.
McIlravy was booked into the Dallas County Jail on June 21st, where bail was set at $25,000 at the time. The alleged child predator has since bonded out. It’s unclear as of this writing whether the former mayor has retained counsel in the active case.
Additional charges could be coming down the line due to the alleged communications with other yet-to-be-identified minors.
This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on June 27, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.
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