Judge temporarily revokes bail for accused abuser of underage girls
Stonebraker’s bondsman files to have bond forfeited
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County judge has temporarily granted a motion Friday to revoke the bail of a Hollidaysburg man accused of sexually abusing two underage girls over several years after his bail bondsman filed an application to have the bond forfeited.
William John Stonebraker, 56, was charged in two separate but related cases in which he faces hundreds of counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 and child sexual abuse. He remained free after posting $150,000 bail in one case and $250,000 bail in the other in March 2023, but was remanded to the Blair County Prison on June 17 following the return of his bond.
Stonebraker appeared alongside defense attorney Bryce Dunio for a bail revocation hearing before President Judge Wade A. Kagarise. At the beginning of the hearing, Kagarise informed those gathered that the bail bondsman company who had paid Stonebraker's bail had filed an application to have the bond forfeited.
Kagarise said he would temporarily revoke Stonebraker's bail and that in the instance that Stonebraker had the funds to pay the bail on his own, he would schedule another bail revocation hearing to hear arguments from the District Attorney's Office on their previously filed motion to revoke Stonebraker's bail.
Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mays had filed the motion on June 11, writing that one of the bail conditions was that Stonebraker would "have no contact with any of the victims and/or witnesses named in the criminal complaint."
Mays said in the motion that the victim reported to the DA's Office that Stonebraker "has had regular communication with her."
Kagarise also heard arguments in regard to Mays's motion to sever one of Stonebraker's cases from his other case and those of Marie Stonebraker, 44.
Former Senior Judge Richard Lewis of Dauphin County had granted motions from the prosecution to have the four cases joined for trial in July 2025.
Mays told Kagarise he was seeking to have the case severed because "the Commonwealth has learned the named victim has since made additional allegations against William Stonebraker." He said state police were in the process of investigating those allegations, which could have a "material impact" on the case he was not seeking to be severed.
Mays said the prosecution was ready to move to trial on the case filed about Stonebraker in 2020 and would proceed on the remaining three cases with both defendants at a later time.
Dunio objected to the severance, arguing the only reason for Mays's request was the age of the 2020 case and that "time alone is not a big enough factor" to grant the motion.
He also argued that severing the case would "make defending Mr. Stonebraker very, very difficult."
Chief Public Defender Julia Burke, who represents Marie Stonebraker, did not object to Mays's motion to sever.
Kagarise ultimately said he would take the matter under advisement and would issue an order as soon as possible.
The first case against William Stonebraker was brought in June 2020 after he was accused of sexually abusing a juvenile female from Sept. 1, 2016, until Sept. 1, 2018, when she was between the ages of 13 and 15 years old. The victim told officers the assaults happened up to twice a day, about four times a week. She said Stonebraker told her that if she told anyone, he would have to lie to avoid going to jail.
In March 2023, state police filed hundreds of additional child sexual abuse charges against William Stonebraker in another case for allegedly sexually abusing a second juvenile female beginning when she was 6 years old.
In May 2023, Marie Stonebraker was charged with hundreds of offenses, including indecent assault of a person less than 13 and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child. In an interview at the Blair County Children's Advocacy Center, the victim said Marie Stonebraker sexually abused her at least once a month.
Marie Stonebraker was further charged in February 2025 with two felony counts of intimidating a witness/victim and one felony count of retaliation against a witness/victim after allegedly violating a Protection from Abuse order by posting a YouTube video shaming and insulting the victim.
Mirror staff writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.