15-year-old girl uses cellphone to record, prove sexual advances from adult
Published 4:15 pm Saturday, January 17, 2015
A Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania teenager recorded an explicit conversation on her cellphone that led to the arrest of sexual perpetrator, according to state police.
Dale Short, 48, is accused of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old in his Hartley Township home.
Short asked her on Sunday night whether he could have sex with her and began to touch her leg, the teen told troopers on Wednesday. She stopped him, but Short continued to speak provocatively and suggest they have sex, according to court documents.
The 15-year-old told troopers she was afraid because Short had been drinking earlier in the day and she didn’t know what he was going to do. Fearing no one would believe her, she began recording the encounter with Short on her cellphone, court documents state.
Short faces four felonies counts, including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault of a minor.
Police interviewed Short on Wednesday and confirmed the victim’s story, court documents state.
Short is in Union County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail after arraignment Thursday. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 27.