A 42-year-old Levittown man was charged in a sexual assault that police say happened at a Bensalem motel.
Michael Dougherty of Middletown’s Levittown section was charged Monday night with corruption of a minor; photograph, film or depicting sex acts on a computer; endangering the welfare of a child; and criminal use of a communication facility.
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Bensalem police were called to the Lincoln Motel on Lincoln Highway early Monday morning for a report of a rape. The victim, according to court papers, was a 16-year-old girl who said Dougherty raped her three times in a motel room.
According to police, Dougherty and the 16-yearold met on the social media platform Whisper and were chatting for several weeks via the app and cell phone.
Dougherty, who she knew as “Steven” and believed to be over the age of 30, picked the teen up from the Neshaminy Mall around 9 p.m. Sunday to help her run away, according to court papers. While on their way to the motel, Dougherty told the girl to take the battery out of her cell phone so no one could track her, police allege.
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Once the two were in motel room, Dougherty reportedly locked the door and had her take off her clothes.Dougherty then had the girl perform sex acts on him and he began recording it on his cell phone, according to court papers.
“Over the course of a few hours the male vaginally raped her three (3) times and ejaculated inside of her vagina,” police wrote in court papers. Detectives also wrote that the 42-year-old did not wear a condom and struck the girl several times in the face.
“If you leave this room, I am going to kill you,” Dougherty is alleged to have told the girl as he left the room with her cell phone following the assault, according to court papers.
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The teen is reported to have waited a few hours before alerting a person in a nearby motel room of what happened. That guest, police said, called 9-1-1.
Investigators allege Dougherty knew the girl was underage.
In an interview with police, Dougherty admitted to sexually assaulting the girl several times and recording it on his cell phone, court papers say.
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“The defendant confirmed he deleted all of the video, pictures and text conversations on his phone because after they had sexual intercourse he did not like the way the victim was acting,” police wrote in court papers.
The girl was taken to a hospital for a sexual assault exam.
Dougherty was arraigned overnight before District Judge Daniel Baranoski and sent to county lockup on 10 percent of $150,000 bail. Baranoski placed restrictions that Dougherty was not have contact with minors, the victim or unsupervised use of the internet or a smartphone.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
