Police charge East Deer man with sexual assault of a minor

Allegheny County Police have charged an East Deer man with sexually assaulting a minor along a walking trail.

Brian Ball, 40, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual abuse of a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, indecent exposure and three counts of corruption of minors.

He was denied bond and taken to the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh.

Allegheny Valley Regional Police responded to a 911 call just after 10 p.m. July 28, regarding a 12-year-old girl who said she was assaulted along a walking trail near the Allegheny River, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

The girl and a juvenile friend told police they were walking the trail when they encountered a group of people along the river bank, police said.

Ball offered to escort the girls off the trail and, during that time, offered them marijuana and sexually assaulted one of them multiple times, according to the complaint.

Ball is accused of pulling one of the girls away from the trail twice and both times touching her inappropriately, the complaint said.

When the victim stated her age, Ball reportedly said, “Whatever, I’m not going to rape you,” according to the complaint.

Detectives conducted surveillance along the trail and, through interviews, identified Ball as the suspect, the complaint said. He was arrested Monday.

An attorney was not listed for Ball in court records. An Aug. 20 preliminary hearing is set in District Judge Carolyn Bengel’s Brackenridge court.