Williamsburg man charged with child sexual assault
Lane accused in incidents with teen boy
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A Williamsburg man is facing charges for allegedly assaulting a young boy starting when he was about 15 years old.
Following an investigation spanning three years, Steven M. Lane, 71, was arraigned Thursday night before Magisterial District Judge Daniel DeAntonio on felony charges of trafficking in individuals - recruit/entice/solicit/etc., involuntary deviate sexual intercourse person less than 16 years of age, unlawful contact with minor - sexual offenses, sexual extortion - engage in sexual conduct/nudity, corruption of minors - defendant 18 or older, aggravated indecent assault - complainant less than 16 and photograph/film depict on computer sex act - knowingly or permitting child, as well as one misdemeanor count of indecent assault person less than 16. According to the affidavit of probable cause, state police at Huntingdon were made aware of a 2019 ChildLine report that had been closed due to the victim's reported unwillingness to cooperate.
In March 2021, a witness showed police eight pages of Facebook messages dated from Feb. 23, 2021, between the victim and Lane that were sexually graphic in nature, indicating that the two had been in some sort of sexual relationship together. The messages also showed Lane had been buying the victim vape pods, court documents state.
In April 2021, the victim was interviewed by police. At that time, he stated he had been in contact with Lane since he was about 16 years old. Lane added him as a friend on Facebook and would buy the victim vape pods and alcohol on occasion, according to police records. The victim told police Lane would often ask for photos of his genitals in exchange for the gifts, but the victim refused his requests.
Lane started driving the victim to different locations and would allegedly ask the victim to ride with his pants off. He would also ask to touch the victim's genitals or to engage in sexual intercourse with him, requests which were also reportedly denied by the victim, according to the affidavit.
The victim was interviewed again, in February 2022, while serving time at Mifflin County Prison. During that interview, he said that he had told the truth in his first interview with police, but hadn't shared everything. The victim shared that he first came into contact with Lane when he was 15 years old. According to court documents, when the victim went to Lane's house to retrieve "smokes" on one occasion, Lane performed oral sex on the victim.
On another occasion, Lane drove the victim to his girlfriend's house and allegedly made the victim touch Lane's genitals. Lane would reportedly often ask the victim if "he still loved him" during these encounters. He would also repeatedly ask for pictures and sexual favors in exchange for gifts and rides.
On Nov. 2, 2023, Lane was interviewed by police and reportedly admitted to meeting the victim when he was 15, buying him vape pods and alcohol. According to court documents, when police presented Lane with the graphic Facebook messages, Lane admitted to having oral sex with or giving oral sex to the victim on multiple occasions. He denied ever having sexual intercourse with the victim.
When asked if there were other victims, Lane allegedly admitted to assaulting the victim's brother on one occasion. Police asked Lane if he exchanged photos with other kids, and he told police that a third victim sent him a picture of his "ass" one time. Police confiscated Lane's phone. Using a search warrant, police located a photo of a young male displaying his buttocks. Photos of the first victim were also found on the cellphone, court documents state.
Lane was unable to post $75,000 bail and was remanded to Blair County Prison. His preliminary hearing is set for May 14 before DeAntonio.