Sex assault charges held
A city man, facing charges regarding an alleged child sexual assault, will be heading to county court after the charges against him were bound over during a preliminary hearing on Monday.
Paul A. Claypoole, 39, was initially charged with two counts of felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and three counts of misdemeanor indecent assault following an incident on Center Avenue on April 3.
All charges were bound over to Butler County Court of Common Pleas during a preliminary hearing before District Judge William Fullerton.
According to Butler City police, Claypoole was charged after a report of a child being sexually assaulted. The witness, Mikael Clutter, testified Monday that he saw a man and another person facing the same direction, and the man was behind the other person, who he identified as a child. The window was about 10 feet from the street and the lights were on at the time, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
“(The eyewitness) described the perpetrator as being fat and he was not wearing any clothing,” according to court documents.
“I felt that something needed to be done,” Clutter testified.
Clutter said he then yelled at the suspect, who turned off all the lights in the home.
Lt. Anthony Fatta, of the Butler City Police Department, testified that Claypoole initially waived his Miranda rights and spoke to police for about 15 minutes. But when he requested an attorney, police ended the interview.
Fatta said a rape kit had been used in the investigation, but the results had not yet been delivered.
Claypoole's attorney, Joseph Nash, argued that no evidence had been entered regarding forcible compulsion, and asked for the charges to be dismissed.
Mark A. Lope, assistant district attorney, argued that the child is 15 years old and cannot consent legally.
Nash also asked for a bail reduction, which was denied.
Claypoole spoke during the proceeding when asked about his criminal history, and admitted to a 1998 conviction for statutory sexual assault.
He is being held in the Butler County Prison on $100,000 bail.
