Perkasie man accused of sex assault
NEW HANOVER >> A Bucks County man is behind bars and awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges he sexually assaulted a 15-yearold girl during an encounter in a Montgomery County park after meeting the girl in an online chatroom.
Jonathan G. Faucette, 55, of the first block of Country Road in Perkasie, was arraigned before District Court Judge Henry J. Nesbitt III on charges of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault of a person less than 16, corruption of a minor, unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use
of a communication facility and possessing instruments of crime in connection with the May incident.
Nesbitt set Faucette’s bail at $500,000 cash. Faucette was unable to post the bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility to await his July 27 preliminary hearing on the charges before District Court Judge Maurice Saylor.
As conditions of bail, Faucette was ordered to have no contact with the victim or other juveniles and he is prohibited from internet usage.
Faucette’s arrest was announced on Tuesday by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and New Hanover Police Chief Kevin McKeon.
“The online world is a serious threat to young girls and boys since its anonymity makes it attractive to sexual predators. This defendant was preying on young girls on a website/ app called Omegle, which markets itself as ‘Talk to Strangers! There are some very cool people in the world,’” Steele alleged on Tuesday. “Omegle has come under fire before for not verifying the ages of any user or monitoring the communications on its platform as it matches users with random strangers to have one-on-one chats.
“Parents need to make sure they talk to their kids about the dangers in using this kind of a platform, how people can lie about who they are and above all, the danger of meeting someone in real life who they have only talked to online. Stranger danger is real online,” Steele added.
The investigation began on May 18, when county detectives received a ChildLine report regarding a 15-year-old girl who had disclosed to a mandated reporter that she had a sexual encounter with an older, married male at New Hanover Township Community Park located on Gail Drive on May 7, according to the criminal complaint filed by New Hanover Detective Michael Coyle, who is cross-sworn as a county detective assigned to the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
During the investigation, the girl’s father, a resident of New Hanover, told detectives that he had learned the girl had the sexual encounter with the older male who she had met through the online platforms Omegle and Instagram. The investigation revealed the encounter took place during the afternoon of May 7 in a wooded area next to the township park after the girl returned from school.
The girl subsequently told authorities she had met the man, later determined to be Faucette, while using the Omegle platform and then moved the conversation to Instagram where they continued to message each other over a period of several days, according to court documents.
“She stated that their text conversations often were about sex,” Coyle alleged in the arrest affidavit.
On May 7, Faucette and the girl agreed to meet at the park in New Hanover where Faucette proceeded to spread a blue blanket in a wooded area, removed the girl’s clothing and then had sexual contact with the girl, detectives alleged. The girl told detectives Faucette put his hand on her neck and forcefully pulled her in, kissing her. When the girl told Faucette she did not want to do that anymore, Faucette allegedly removed his clothing and sexually assaulted the girl.
The girl told detectives that during their online conversations, Faucette informed her that he was married. When the girl asked Faucette why he would “hit on little kids like me when you have a wife,” Faucette allegedly replied, “a lot of kids enjoy meeting up with me. I like to see their pleasure on their faces,” according to the criminal complaint.
“She further stated that he informed her that he had previously had sex with a thirteen year old that he had also met in the woods and that he told her he was ‘attracted to minors,’” Coyle alleged in the arrest affidavit.
Detectives subsequently served a warrant on Facebook to obtain the records related to the suspect’s Instagram account and linked it to Faucette’s residence, according to court papers. Detectives said a search of Faucette’s home and car uncovered a blue blanket and other evidence consistent with the victim’s account of the alleged assault.
The victim subsequently identified a photograph of Faucette as the man who assaulted her on May 7.
When detectives interviewed Faucette, he allegedly admitted to meeting the girl online and to the sexual contact with the girl in the park. Faucette further acknowledged that he knew that the girl was under 16 years of age, according to court documents.