An 81-year-old Philadelphia man who regularly visited a Middletown family has been accused by police of sexually assaulting their young daughter.
John Taylor Hovatter, who turns 82 early next month, was charged recently with aggravated indecent assault of a child, indecent assault of a child less than 13 years of age, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor, and aggravated indecent assault. He was arraigned in early April by on-call District Judge John Kelly and bail was set at 10 percent of $250,000, which he was able to post.
Advertisements
Hovatter began visiting the family at their South Bellevue Avenue home starting in 2015 after they met at church. The 81-year-old man’s visits became “substantially frequent” and he stopped by multiple times a week, police said.
Hovatter visited so often the family was unable to entertain him and he would be left in the living room to watch TV. He also had access to the entire house, police said.
The family started to become annoyed with Hovatter’s frequent visits and called authorities when their 9-year-old daughter said he had touched her private areas, police said.
Advertisements
The girl was interviewed, according to court papers, at the Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center. She stated she would often sit next to or on Hovatter’s lap. During those times, he would allegedly inappropriately touch her private areas on occasions.
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.
Advertisements
