AG's office announces sex charges against 4 men; Butler suspect kills himself before arrest

A Butler County man who was about to be arrested Thursday morning on charges of rape and sexual abuse killed himself in the bathroom of his home, officials said.

Eric E. Eleam Sr., 61, of Butler, was one of four men facing charges in connection with a statewide investigating grand jury that found the men had sexually abused children.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced the charges Thursday morning in Pittsburgh.

The three other men — from Cambria, Berks and Lancaster counties — were all taken into custody without incident.

According to the 20-page grand jury filing, the AG’s office said it received a tip about possible sexual assault involving members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2019 and initiated an investigation.

Some of the allegations dated back to the 1990s and could not be charged because of the statute of limitations, Shapiro said.

There is no statute of limitations for rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and several other sex crimes when the victim is less than 18 years old. For charges including indecent assault and endangering the welfare of children, charges can be filed up until the victim is 55 years old.

The men arrested Thursday include:

• Jose Serrano, 69, of Lancaster County, is accused of abusing six young girls in 2011. The AG’s office said he confessed to many of the charges. He is charged with aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and endangering the welfare of children.

• Jesse Hill, 52, formerly of Berks County and now a resident of Georgia, is accused of using his milling business, JMH Machine Company, to attract young boys from his Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Kutztown congregation to parties at his property — promising alcohol, marijuana and pornography — in the 1990s. The investigation identified at least 12 victims. He is charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. Although the presentment does not go into great detail, it does say that Hill used his involvement in the Kutztown congregation to find boys he later groomed for abuse. “Ultimately, Hill gained the trust of several parents and was permitted extensive access to congregational juvenile males,” the presentment said.

• Robert Ostrander, 56, formerly of Cambria County and now living in New York, is accused of sexually abusing two minors. He is charged with indecent assault, endangering welfare of children and corruption of minors.

According to the presentment charging Eleam, he sexually assaulted a girl between 1992 and 1997, when she was between the ages of 12 and 17.

At the time of the abuse, the presentment said, Eleam lived in Pittsburgh.

The grand jury said it received documents corroborating a meeting between Eleam’s alleged victim, her mother and community members.

“The documents show that (the victim) reported her abuse to adults in her life, who then met with (her) and Eleam.”

A summary of the meeting obtained by the grand jury showed that the community members were told that the girl had been abused hundreds of times.

During the meeting, the presentment said, Eleam said that if the victim said the abuse happened, “then it ‘must be true.’”

Later, when agents from the AG’s office interviewed Eleam, he told them that “he had ‘been taught not to lie.’”

“Eleam then expressed concern about going to jail and terminated the interview,” the presentment said.

When agents arrived at his Villa Street apartment at 8 a.m. Thursday, the AG’s office said, he retreated into his bathroom and killed himself behind closed doors.