A Luzerne County man is charged with indecent assault on a minor and corruption of minors following an incident that allegedly occurred at a holiday party in Schuylkill County back in late-November.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Kline Township Police Dept., this incident happened back on Nov. 30 at a holiday party.
The accused, Joseph Disabella, 38, of Sugarloaf, Luzerne County, allegedly followed an 11-year-old toward the bathroom and waited for them outside. When they came out of the bathroom, he tricked the victim into going into a bedroom and locked the door.
That’s when the victim of this incident tells investigators that they were touched inappropriately. While this was happening, someone else at the party came upstairs and startled Disabella, according to the police record, and he told the victim to “get out” and that’s what the victim did.
The victim reportedly disclosed what had happened at that party to their therapist and that’s when a police investigation was launched. That investigation included a forensic interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA in Scranton.
Disabella was arraigned before District Magistrate Judge Edward Tarantelli on Dec. 23 and charged with first-degree misdemeanors of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old and corruption of minors.
Tarantelli set bail at $75,000 unsecured and Disabella was released. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 8, 2025, before Tarantelli.
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