Man accused of sex with minor
A Butler man is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl twice last year.
The suspect, 22-year-old Zachary R. Gilbert, again had sex with the same girl last month, according to court documents.
Butler police on Monday arrested Gilbert on 11 felony and misdemeanor charges. He is being held in the Butler County Prison on $15,000 bail.
Investigators believe the defendant met the girl, who is now 15, on a social media site in 2014.
The two eventually exchanged sexually explicit conversations and photos, documents said. Later, in July 2014, the two allegedly had sexual intercourse on separate occasions at Gilbert’s then home on West Penn Street.
They had sex a third time last month at the suspect’s new home on South Street, police said.
The girl’s mother notified police earlier this month after discovering the illicit relationship.
During an Aug. 11 interview with an advocate for the Butler County Alliance for Children, the girl acknowledged her sexual encounters with Gilbert. She told investigators that before they first had sex, she informed the suspect she was 14.
Butler police Capt. David Dalcamo on Friday interviewed Gilbert at the station. He initially denied any contact with the accuser.
However, confronted with the girl’s allegations and other evidence, he admitted to sending her photos of a sexual nature and to having sex with her, documents said.
Additionally, the defendant told Dalcamo he knew how old the girl was when they had sex.
District Judge Pete Shaffer on Monday arraigned Gilbert on one count each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and unlawful contact with a minor, and three counts each of aggravated indecent assault and statutory sexual assault, all felonies.
He also is charged with three misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.
Gilbert’s preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 31.
