A 32-year-old woman is accused of lying when she claimed the father of her 12-year-old daughter sexually abused the girl at his Penn Township home last month.

The woman, whose last known address was in the Pittsburgh area, now faces a March 18 preliminary hearing on a half-dozen charges — all misdemeanors — in connection with the Penn Township police investigation. The Eagle is not identifying the defendant in this case to protect the identity of her daughter given the nature of the accusations.

Sgt. Cheryl Cranmer charged the mother Feb. 26 following her investigation that began Feb. 18 when the woman reported her daughter's biological father allegedly admitted during a purported phone call the night before that he abused the girl.

The defendant told authorities her daughter claimed during the same call she was being abused by her father.

According to Cranmer, the 35-year-old father was previously granted full custody of the girl by Allegheny County court and she lives with him.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that will appear in Friday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.