North Strabane man accused of having sex with teenage girl
A North Strabane Township man accused of having sex with a Westmoreland County girl at his home, as well as at a condominium at a Somerset County ski resort, was arraigned Thursday after turning himself into township police.
Andrew Charles Maletta, 23, of 172 Brehm Road, was arraigned before District Judge Jay Weller on nine counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault of a person under the age of 16 and one count of corruption of minors.
Township police Lt. Dan Levi, who filed the charges, said that since the majority of the incident occurred in North Strabane it was decided to file all the charges in this county. In addition to the incidents at his home and the condominium, the two allegedly had sex in his vehicle while it was parked in Ligonier.
Levi said the girl’s parents apparently discovered the relationship after seeing text messages. The girl’s father contacted police in September and requested a police investigation.
The girl told investigators during a forensic interview with the District attorney’s domestic and sex crimes unit she met Maletta on the first weekend of this year while staying at her girlfriend’s condominium. She was 14-years-old at the time and Maletta was 22. She was at Seven Springs almost every weekend.
Maletta was staying with his friend. They had sexual intercourse twice at the condo where Maletta had been staying.
The girl, who is now 15, told investigators the two started dating in May. Maletta would drive to her house and pick her up and then take her back to his North Strabane home. She said they had sexual intercourse in the bedroom of his home six times in June. They also had intercourse in his vehicle while it was parked at an athletic field in Ligonier.
A forensic examination also was done on her cellphone and the evidence found on it supports the girl’s statements.
Maletta is free on $50,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled for a Nov. 20 preliminary hearing in Central Court.