Preliminary hearing scheduled for Hampton woman accused of sexually assaulting 2 children

A Hampton woman accused late last year of sexually abusing two children starting when they were 7 and 8 years old is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing next month, court records show.

Iris Schmidt, 21, is free on $25,000 bond while awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful restraint, making terroristic threats and indecent assault, according to online court records.

Schmidt’s court-appointed attorney Rachael C. Arieanna Santoriella did not reply to messages.

Allegheny County Police said in a criminal complaint filed against Schmidt that they were notified about the alleged abuse on Oct. 24, 2019, after the children reported it to Childline, a child abuse reporting hotline.

The children, a boy and a girl, were 14 and 16 when they reported the alleged assaults, the complaint said.

In a Nov. 13, 2019, interview, the boy told a specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh that Schmidt began touching him inappropriately when he was in second grade and then began forcing him to have sex with her when he was in fourth grade, police said. The boy was 7 and Schmidt was 13 when the alleged abuse started, according to the complaint.

The boy said he never reported the abuse because Schmidt threatened to hurt his family and he feared for their safety, according to the complaint.

Detectives interviewed the girl at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital on Nov. 18, 2019. The girl said she was between the ages of 8 and 11 when Schmidt, then between 12 and 15, sexually assaulted her, according to police.

Online court records show a preliminary hearing has been postponed at least six times since charges were first filed on Dec. 12, 2019. One is now tentatively scheduled for Nov. 18 before District Judge Tom Swan in West Deer.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said scheduling conflicts, defense preparation and coronavirus-related issues were reasons for the postponements.