Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A former pastor from Bristol Township’s Levittown section was arrested Thursday on charges he molested a young girl over an extended period of time more than 20 years ago.
Scott Sechrist, 61, was arraigned before District Judge Robert Wagner on 20 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under age 16, 10 counts of aggravated indecent assault, 10 counts of statutory rape and related offenses. He was released of $500,000 unsecured bail. The judge set conditions that Sechrist was not to have contact with the victim or the family.
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The girl, now a woman in her 30s, first reported the molestation in 1992, according to court papers. It is unclear as of press time what took so long for charges to be filed.
Sechrist was the pastor at a baptist church in Morrisville Borough and knew the girl’s family.
According to police, the woman told a detective recently that Sechrist began sexually assaulting her by grabbing her butt. He reportedly told her it was “cute” when she was in fifth grade inside a Bristol Township home. The assaults continued and even happened during evening prayer sessions that lasted for 10 to 15 minutes.
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Authorities allege Sechrist’s behavior escalated to intercourse.
The alleged molestation stepped up when Sechrist and the girl began to have more alone time, police said.
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According to court papers, the assaults involved multiple forms of sexual activity and would take place throughout the home the girl lived in. The woman recently relayed to detectives the assaults happened multiple times a week for two years, police said.
The behavior between the girl and Sechrist only stopped when the incident were reported when the girl was 12 years old.
