A 28-year-old Butler man, on parole for his role in the 2017 murder of a Butler woman, has been charged with having sex with an underage girl.

Butler City Police on July 2 charged James Howard-George with four felonies, including statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors. He also is charged with a misdemeanor count of indecent assault on a minor.Police arrested Howard-George the day they filed charges, and he was placed in Butler County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.Howard-George has been on parole since Jan. 30, when he was sentenced for his guilty plea regarding his involvement in the murder of Melissa Barto, 26, of Butler.Howard-George had pleaded guilty to helping his friend, Ishemer Ramsey, 25, burn and hide the body of Barto in Lawrence County in 2017.In the recent charges, Howard-George is accused of having a relationship with a 17-year-old girl and, throughout that relationship, having sex with her.Police said they were alerted May 12 through ChildLine, a hotline that reports child abuse in Pennsylvania.Police said the adolescent girlfriend and a witness provided interviews and statements that corroborated Howard-George having sex with the teen, which included at least two videos of those sexual acts.Police said one of the videos shows the two having sex at a party on May 8.Police said a forensic interview was conducted May 21 with the girlfriend about the party.“She watched a recorded video of her having sex with Jing (Howard-George's nickname), who she knew to be 27 years old,” said the investigating detective.Police said multiple other witnesses were interviewed about the party, and said they talked to Howard-George on June 7 about the party and what occurred there.Police said Howard-George told detectives that he was drunk before he arrived, and he continued drinking. “When confronted about having sex with (the girl), he answered that if he did do that, he does not remember and must have blacked out,” detectives said.In the midst of the investigation, Howard-George was charged in relation to another incident involving his teenage girlfriend.According to charging documents in that case, police were called at 3:21 a.m. May 30 to the area of West New Castle and North Washington streets for a reported assault.Police said the girl spoke with police at the scene and told them Howard-George assaulted her earlier that evening.“Officers determined that (the girl) was dating Howard-George,” said the investigating officer in that case. “(The girl) stated that Howard-George had grabbed her by her hair, by the neck of her sweatshirt, pushed her to the ground and dragged her.”No further details were available in the affidavit filed May 30, and it was unclear why the two may have been fighting.After his arrest on the most recent charges, a separate $50,000 bond was added to the May case, which means Howard-George will need to post a total of $150,000 before being released.Howard-George is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing July 12 on the charges involving sex with the girl. He also has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 2 in the assault case. Both hearings will be before District Judge William Fullerton.

James Howard-George