NEWPORT, Pa. — A district judge in Pennsylvania is facing criminal charges after prosecutors said he sexually assaulted a child.
According to WHTM and WPMT, Perry County District Judge Michael Schechterly, 58, of Newport, was arrested on charges of unlawful contact with children, indecent assault and corruption of a minor, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a news release Monday.
Pennsylvania State Police began investigating Schechterly, who was elected to his post in 2011, after residents expressed concerns about his interactions with children, according to the news release.
“Investigators who interviewed witnesses determined that Schechterly regularly brought children into his district court office and home,” the release said. “Schechterly made contact with many children through a program in his church known as the ‘Royal Rangers,’ where he served as ‘Commander Mike.’”
Investigators believe Schechterly “allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy at his residence in 2012,” the release said. The judge also “touched his own genitals in the presence of the child,” according to the release.
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/2FYLEBPFOZCDZOZ3LTPVHUXAZY.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/OP4L4IUHEIWRTTX257DKOM4IMU.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/JQXAIHCYDFCKJBKU2RKAWZFSGU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/07-25-2024/t_f4cd7cb9f3cf4b49b75b9aa896228fd9_name_theracerblocks11pp072424_frame_557.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/PFYBKJAJXBAFDFIOY6OBUDZY24.jpg)