City man accused of meeting teenager for sex
Zimmerman faces charges of statutory assault
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A 21-year-old city man is behind bars after allegedly meeting up with a 13-year-old girl to have sex.
Braeden James Zimmerman, 21, was arraigned Saturday before Magisterial District Judge Paula M. Aigner on felony charges of statutory sexual assault, child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility along with a misdemeanor charge of corruption of minors.
Unable to post $100,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for March 13 before Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio.
Altoona police were notified Sept. 19 about the 13-year-old victim's relationship with Zimmerman after the girl's mother found the pair in the area of Geesey Park. The pair fled the woman, who later found them in the area of Eighth Street and Bell Avenue and then called 911, court documents state.
During the investigation, police interviewed the victim's 14-year-old boyfriend, who created a group chat on Facebook and urged the girl to have sex with Zimmerman. The girl sent intimate photos, police said, and at times the boyfriend said he would commit suicide if the victim refused to have sex with Zimmerman.
Police combed through the cellphone data belonging to the victim, her boyfriend and Zimmerman, locating messages between the girl and her boyfriend in which he said she was breaking her promise if she didn't have sex with other males. He threatened to break up with her and said he would commit suicide with a knife, the report states.
In talking with police, Zimmerman admitted he knew the victim was 13 years old and said the boyfriend set up the encounter between him and the girl.
The girl's boyfriend initially denied the allegations, but when confronted with messages recovered from his phone, admitted to police that he set up the two and admitted he told the victim he would kill himself or break up with her for not participating in the sex acts, such as sending child pornography or engaging in sexual acts with others.
During an interview at the Children's Advocacy Center, the victim admitted to meeting with Zimmerman and sending sexually explicit images of herself, but said they did not engage in any sexual activity.