Plea rejected in molestation case
A Butler County judge rejected a plea agreement Wednesday for a man who previously pleaded no contest to corruption of minors.
Judge William Shaffer issued the order rejecting the agreement entered by Roger L. Young, 68, on Sept. 13.
Young is accused of molesting three young girls at Patti Cake Child Care Center, which his wife operated at their Oakland Township home in 2010 and 2011.
Young is now scheduled for conferences on Dec. 4 and Jan. 17, with jury selection beginning Jan. 18 and trial on Jan. 29.
The rejection follows a request for a continuance of a sentencing hearing, which was scheduled to be held Thursday.
The reason for the continuance as stated on the application delivered by Young's attorney, Michael Zunder, is that “defendant has a number of things to take care of prior to year's end and some family milestones to attend before year's end and would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish while on HA (house arrest).”
According to the previous agreement, sentencing called for 12 months probation, with the first 60 days spent on house arrest with electronic monitoring and a fine.
Young was initially charged with three felony counts of corruption of minors and three counts of misdemeanor indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old by the state police after allegations that he fondled three young children, ages 9, 4 and 3, at the Patti Cake Child Care Center on Route 68.
The charges were amended for the misdemeanor count and the remaining counts were to be dropped as part of the now-rejected no contest plea.
The investigation began after a 9-year-old girl told a relative in 2011 that Young had fondled her while she was seated on his lap in a rocking chair at the business, police said.
The county Children and Youth Services agency was notified of the allegations and interviewed the children. Following a search of the home, police said, video surveillance showed Young molesting at least two girls around November 2010.
Young remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
The facility had been licensed since 2009, according to previous reports, but has since closed.
Officials with the District Attorney's Office and Zunder's office did not return a message for comment.
