Man waives hearing on sex assault charges
NEW HANOVER >> A Bucks County man must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that 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 Per
kasie, waived his preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Maurice Saylor 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, according to court records.
Faucette will now face a formal arraignment hearing on the charges in county court later this year. At that time, a judge will schedule a trial date.
The investigation began May 18, when county detectives received a ChildLine report regarding a 15-yearold girl who had disclosed to a mandated reporter that she had a sexual encounter with an older, married man at New Hanover Township Community Park 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 man 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 where Faucette proceeded to spread a blanket in a wooded area, removed the girl’s clothing and then had sexual contact with her, 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 told 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.
During the interview, Faucette provided additional details related to a similar pattern of meeting teenaged females on Omegle and other sites extending as far back as 2011 and that the bulk of the encounters included various sex acts with females between the ages of 14 and 20, detectives alleged.
“He expressed that these females had been located in multiple states, including Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” Coyle alleged.
Assistant Chief of Trials Brianna Ringwood, who oversees the district attorney’s Family Protection Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Glenning, are prosecuting the case.