Bedford County man charged in alleged indecent assault
A Bedford County man who is already behind bars for allegedly admitting that he sent a picture of his genitals to a minor over SnapChat is facing additional charges after being accused of touching a 10-year-old girl inappropriately.
Gabriel Martin, 18, was arraigned Tuesday by Magisterial District Judge Kevin R. Diehl on one felony count of corruption of minors – defendant age 18 or above and one misdemeanor count of indecent assault on a person less than 13 years of age.
Unable to post $35,000 bail, Martin was remanded to the Bedford County Correctional Facility. He is scheduled to appear in front of Diehl on July 17 for a preliminary hearing.
The new charges against Martin were brought after state police received multiple ChildLine referrals on May 30, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The incident allegedly occurred along the Juniata River behind the Bedford Elementary School, where the victim was swimming with her uncle, police records show.
On June 7, officers interviewed the victim, who said she had left her residence about 4:30 p.m. to go for a walk across from the courthouse with her uncle, court documents state. The victim told police she ran into Martin, who she knows from being friends with his sister.
Court documents state that Martin asked the victim for her SnapChat name, which she gave to him. The victim and her uncle then left to go swimming but the victim received a message from Martin wanting to meet her. They walked back to Fort Bedford Museum to meet Martin before returning to their swimming location, court documents state.
The victim told officers that she was swimming in her bra and underwear and once they got out of the water, Martin asked to touch her chest, which she allowed, the report states. The victim’s uncle witnessed the interaction and asked Martin “did you at least ask her first?”
Martin was interviewed at the Bedford County Correctional Facility on June 8, where he admitted to touching the victim’s chest, court documents state.
In a separate case, Martin is facing one felony count each of disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor and unlawful contact with a minor, as well as one misdemeanor count of corruption of minors.
Those charges stem from a report made on May 22 of an 18-year-old sending sexual messages to a 10-year-old girl, police records show. Through an investigation, officers learned that Martin had also sent the victim inappropriate pictures.
Court documents state that Martin waived his right to a preliminary hearing on June 12, and the charges were bound over to the court of common pleas. His bail was set at $65,000 in that case.