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Williamsburg man faces assault charges

Altoona police have arrested a Williamsburg man for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Devin R. Butler, 21, of 528 E. Third St., Williamsburg, was arraigned Friday on felony counts of statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors, plus misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and indecent exposure, over allegations he had sex with the girl in December.

According to Altoona police, Butler met the girl after she started working at a restaurant where he was a manager. Police used that when they questioned Butler in March after he claimed she had lied about her age to him.

“She said she was 17, 18, 16, she lied about her age; she lies about how old she is,” Butler allegedly blurted out when Altoona police investigator Detective Cpl. Terry Merritts confronted him in early March with a stack of printed Facebook messages between Butler and the girl.

Merritts pointed out to Butler that he knew the girl’s age because of her federal workplace limitations due to her age, such as use of certain equipment and hours she was allowed to work. It was then that Butler invoked his right to an attorney and questioning was stopped, Merritts pointed out in the charges.

According to the charges, Butler plied the girl with marijuana after she started working with him in November and in late December, he asked her to sneak out of her house and go with him to his place to play video games, watch a movie and smoke pot.

The girl told police that she had smoked marijuana with Butler about six times before that and he talked to her about how he was attracted to her and about a potential relationship.

“Age is only a number to me,” Butler reportedly said to the girl when she expressed concern about having a relationship with him because of their age difference.

On the day of the alleged incident, police said the girl met Butler about 1 a.m. in Altoona and that he drove her to his home in Williamsburg. The girl told police Butler’s driving was so fast and erratic that she was terrified, but he ignored her pleas to slow down.

At Butler’s house, he had the girl smoke marijuana she described as more powerful than the pot she had previously smoked with him. She said she felt “dizzy and sick” and laid down on the bed. The girl said it was then that Butler began caressing her and started kissing her.

“Don’t tell anyone about this,” he allegedly told her. “No one can know about this,” and “You better never tell anyone about this.”

Police said Butler then had sexual relations with the girl. She told police that she didn’t want to but she was scared and feared he would try to hold her hostage.

Butler was released on an unsecured $30,000 bond after his arraignment and is due to appear at Central Court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 9

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