20-year-old Latrobe man accused of sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl
LATROBE, Pa. (KDKA) — A 20-year-old Latrobe man is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Investigators said 20-year-old Malichi Boone met the victim on social media and arranged to meet her close to where the incident allegedly happened near 3rd Ward Park in Latrobe.
For a little over two weeks, investigators said they did everything they could to identify the suspect.
"It was definitely all hands on deck," said Det. Sgt. Michael Wigand with the Latrobe Police Department.
The end result of the investigation was the arrest of Boone. Police said he met the girl on social media and told her he was 15 years old.
"She had met an individual on Snapchat, had been conversing for several months," Wigand said.
"What started as a consensual encounter quickly escalated to non-consensual, where she was sexually assaulted in the woods behind the park," Wigand said.
Investigators got a break in the case when they looked at doorbell and surveillance cameras from the area.
"It's just another case that without that video, we'd never be able to identify Mr. Boone," Wigand said.
KDKA-TV acquired a video that allegedly shows Boone on his bike near the scene at the time of the incident on July 14.
"Malachi Boone photo arrays were then presented to a witness who lives nearby and the victim, who positively identified Mr. Boone as the actor," Wigand said.
Boone is in the Westmoreland County Jail, held without bond. He is facing multiple felony sexual assault-related charges.
