Cabot man accused of child sexual abuse has charges withdrawn
A Cabot man accused of sexually assaulting a girl when she was 11 and 12 years old had his charges withdrawn at a preliminary hearing Thursday, Dec. 18, before District Judge Jack Ripper at the Butler County Courthouse.
Michael Garrett Saunders, 49, was charged Sept. 15 with one felony count each of rape of child, corruption of minors and indecent assault; four felony counts of aggravated indecent assault; two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault; and misdemeanor indecent exposure.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella declined to comment on why the commonwealth withdrew the charges.
Saunders’ preliminary hearing was initially scheduled for Sept. 30 and had been continued three times before charges were withdrawn.
An Oct. 21 hearing was continued to switch the location from Ripper’s office in Saxonburg to the Butler County Courthouse due to spatial restrictions in Ripper’s courtroom. A Dec. 12 preliminary hearing was continued to allow court administration to set up CCTV to enable the girl to testify without being in the same room as Saunders.
Saunders had also posted $200,000 bail to be released from Butler County Prison earlier in the case.
Saunders was charged with raping the girl in 2021 following her 12th birthday and inappropriate contact with her in previous instances. Police were notified of the incident by an Aug. 12 ChildLine report and held a forensic interview Aug. 26.
Saunders was represented by Chelsie Friend of Charlton Law in Sarver.
