HOUTZDALE — An Amish man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting four young girls in Clearfield County.

Simon M. Lee, 34, Westover, was charged by state police on Tuesday with nine counts of rape forcible compulsion, 13 counts of rape of child, eight counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and 16 counts of aggravated indecent assault though District Judge James Glass’s office in Houtzdale.

He is being held in the Clearfield County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

According to court documents, the assaults allegedly began in June 2022 and continued until Aug. 1 of this year.

The first victim was between 6 and 8 years old, victim two was 5 to 7 years old, victim three was 3 through 5 years old and victim four was 2 to 4 years old during the times they were assaulted, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The investigation began after one of the victims’ fathers reported to police that the four girls had been assaulted by Lee at two locations in Burnside Township.

All of the victims were interviewed at the Clearfield County Child Advocacy Center with a special translator who speaks Pennsylvania Dutch.

The first victim explained that they were playing hide and seek with Lee when it first happened to her. She said he touched her under her clothes and also raped her.

This victim said it happened “a lot of times,” court documents state. During some of the abuse, she stated she tried to leave but “he would not let us go.” She confirmed that the others had also suffered assaults from Lee, the report states.

In her interview, the second victim also stated that Lee would not let her leave when they were playing hide and seek.

“He just held me there and I couldn’t get free,” she reportedly said.

When asked how many times this happened, she allegedly said “He did it so many times that I can’t remember” and that he touched her every time she saw him.

Victim three reported that she was also sexually assaulted more than once, according to the report.

The fourth victim refused to speak, the affidavit states.

When the parents of two of the victims were interviewed by investigators, they stated that one of the girls told them about the abuse not just of her, but the other girls. They then spoke to the other girls, who then told them this was true.

The father confronted Lee, who reportedly “broke down and cried,” begging for forgiveness. Later he confessed to a bishop of the church and was shunned for four weeks, according to the criminal complaint.

A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled for Sept. 11 at 8:30 p.m. at the county jail.