New Kensington man accused of sexual misconduct with 3 young girls ordered to stand trial
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A New Kensington man accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with three girls, ages 11, 13 and 14, has been ordered to stand trial on multiple felony charges.
Lawrence William Barber, 67, of Parkview Drive was charged Dec. 9 with three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children and two of corruption of minors. He also faces five charges of indecent assault and indecent exposure in connection with incidents that occurred between May and September, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Barber was ordered to stand trial during a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Jan. 18 before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. Barber is scheduled for formal arraignment in Westmoreland County Court on March 30, according to court records.
He was released from the Westmoreland County Prison on a $40,000 unsecured bond to await trial, court records show.
The judge also ordered Barber to stand trial on a separate charge of making terroristic threats after the father of the girls told police Barber threatened him.
The man told police he was driving near the intersection of Freeport Road and Parkview Drive in New Kensington on Nov. 3 when Barber spotted him, rolled down the window of his vehicle and uttered a vulgarity before threatening to kill him, according to a separate criminal complaint filed in relation to that incident.
Greensburg lawyer Michael E. DeMatt is listed as legal counsel for Barber in court documents. DeMatt could not be reached for comment.
An investigation was launched in early October after the girls’ father alerted police that his daughters told him Barber sexually assaulted them, according to the complaint filed in relation to the sexual misconduct accusations.
Police said Barber was a friend of the family and that he sexually assaulted the girls when they visited him several times a week during a five-month period.
The girls were interviewed by a New Kensington detective sergeant and then underwent separate forensic interviews Oct. 20 at A Child’s Place children’s advocacy center, police said.
The girls said Barber frequently talked about sex while they were together and made sexually derogatory comments about them in front of others when he took them out to fast-food restaurants or shopping, according to the complaint.
The girls told police Barber regularly commented on their bodies and told the two older girls that he wanted to have sex with them but that their youngest sister was “way too young,” according to the complaint.
He also is accused of exposing himself to all three girls a number of times while showering, bathing or in his hot tub, according to the complaint.
The middle sister told investigators that Barber told her he carried a gun and that if “anyone accuses him of anything, he would put a cap in their butt,” the complaint said.
The charges filed against Barber were recommended by a Westmoreland County assistant district attorney who reviewed the case, according to the complaint.