Police seek sex offender accused of assaulting 2 boys who have autism

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Authorities in Greensburg have obtained an arrest warrant for a registered sex offender accused of sexually assaulting two boys who have autism, police said.

Robert Petrill is charged with eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of corruption of minors.

Petrill, Tier 3 registered sex offender, has prior convictions for indecent assault in 2000, 2002 and 2005, police said. He has also previously been arrested for failing to comply with registration as a sexual offender twice in 2014 and once in 2016.

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According to police, Petrill is reportedly living in Philadelphia, but has ties to Westmoreland County.

Investigators said Petrill was staying with a local family in Greensburg last fall when the alleged abuse happened. One of the boys was left alone with him several times.

"That puts the emergency on it," said Capt. Robert Stafford with Greensburg police. "He's done this last year he has a history of doing it three other times. Who knows where he's it or what he's doing."

Channel 11 talked to the mother of the boys. We are concealing her identity so not to identify the alleged victims.

"For him to do what he did is horrendous and awful," she said. She also told Channel 11 she never knew Petrill's history.

"I wouldn't have let this happen. Or I would've said 'no get away from my kids, get away from the house.'"

Police said local families did not know Petrill was a registered sex offender or that he had previous convictions.

"That makes me sick," said Gabrielle Smith, who lives nearby. "This neighborhood has a lot of kids in it and I was really close with those boys because I would babysit them and he needs to be caught."

Neighbors who know the family and their boys told

they're disgusted.

"Now my hearts just broken for them, that something could happen to them like that," Smith said.

Anyone with information on Petrill’s whereabouts is asked to call the city of Greensburg Police Department at 724-834-3800.

Cox Media Group