Rostraver man charged with sexually assaulting girl 7 years ago

A 23-year-old Rostraver man was arrested Thursday after police investigated a tip from a child abuse hotline accusing him of sexually assaulting a girl seven years ago.

Robert T. Parks IV was arraigned on charges of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault of a juvenile less than 13 years old. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bond.

Rostraver police Sgt. Kerry August reported the investigation began after receiving a referral from the statewide ChildLine abuse reporting system.

August said that the girl, who no longer resides in the area, recently told a therapist she was sexually assaulted by Parks multiple times when they lived in the same neighborhood about seven years ago.

The girl later told a child advocate during a forensics interview at A Child’s Place at Mercy in Pittsburgh in late December that she was 6 or 7 and Parks was 17 when the assaults took place.

“After the ongoing sexual assaults, the victim became scared after the defendant began telling her not to tell anyone or he would harm members of her family,” August said in court documents.

During an interview last month, August said Parks admitted occasionally swimming or “wrestling around” with the girl. Parks added that “it was never intended to be in a sexual nature,” August reported.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 22.

Online court dockets indicate Parks has no prior criminal record in Pennsylvania.

Neither Parks or his attorney, Stephen Colafella of Beaver County, could be reached for comment.