Trial ordered in Lansdale child assault case

Xavier Echeverria, 48, faces 21 criminal counts for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting two girls inside Lansdale home

A 48-yearold Hatfield man accused of sexually assaulting two young girls in Lansdale in 2012 was ordered Wednesday afternoon to stand trial in Montgomery County court on 21 felony and misdemeanor criminal counts.

Xavier A. Echeverria, of the 2300 block of Rebecca Drive, appeared in police custody for a preliminary hearing before Lansdale District Judge Edward Levine, who held a half-dozen counts of firstdegree felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, as well as multiple felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child and other offenses, court records indicate.

According to court documents filed in the case, Echeverria allegedly sexually assaulted two girls who were ages 4 and 6 at the time on multiple occasions in their Lansdale residence after the girls’ father hired Echeverria in 2012 to complete home improvement projects in the basement.

The allegations were investigated in November and December of 2016 by Lansdale police detectives, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Both girls were forensically interviewed and each graphically detailed several encounters in which Echeverria sexually assaulted them, as per the affidavit.

In December, the girls’ father positively identified Echeverria via a photo array as the handyman he had hired in 2012, authorities said.

Echeverria remains behind bars at Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 cash bail while awaiting his May 24 formal arraignment in county court.