Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announces charges against four men for sexual abuse of minors
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has announced criminal charges against four men in Pennsylvania for the sexual abuse of children across the Commonwealth.
Jesse Hill, a former resident of Berks County now a resident of Georgia; Jose Serrano of Lancaster County; Eric Eleam of Butler County; and Robert Ostrander, a former resident of Cambria County, now a resident of New York, are all charged for the sexual assault and exploitation of children.
All of the defendants' victims were minors, as well as members of Jehovah's Witness congregations.
"These cases are disturbing, the allegations hard to imagine, and all share one common tie - the 19 victims and the four men who are being charged with sexually violating them are all members of Jehovah's Witnesses," AG Shapiro said. "These children deserved to be protected and grow up in peace, not to be preyed upon. My office will not stop until these defendants are held accountable for their crimes against innocent children and until justice is achieved for these courageous survivors."
Serrano is accused of molesting his own daughter, along with five other young girls in 2011. He is facing charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, and endangering the welfare of children.
Hill is accused of using his milling business to attract young boys from the congregation with promises of alcohol, marijuana, and pornography in the 1990s. He allegedly exposed himself to the children, groped them, and forced them to perform oral sex. He is facing charges of rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, indecent assault, and the corruption of minors.
Ostrander is accused of sexually abusing at least two minors, including his own stepdaughter. He is facing charges of indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, and corruption of minors.
Eleam is accused of sexually abusing his daughter and using sexual molestation as a form of punishment when she was a child. He facing charges of rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.
When officers attempted to take Eleam into custody, he took his own life.
Charges were filed in Lancaster, Berks, and Cambria counties. Those charges all stem from a grand jury and the investigation found that these men in total abused and exploited 19 minors.
