Ligonier Township man charged with sexually assaulting juvenile

A Ligonier Township man is accused by police of having sex with a juvenile on several occasions, according to court papers.

Tyler Madison Smith, 25, is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison. He is charged with six counts of statutory sexual assault and single counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors and indecent assault.

Ligonier Valley police said they received a report last month of a juvenile being sexually assaulted and interviewed Smith. Police say he told investigators he had sex with the juvenile six times between October and December. Smith said he initially decided not to engage in sexual intercourse because of the child’s age and he knew it wouldn’t be right, according to court papers.

The accuser’s age and gender were redacted from a criminal complaint released by district court officials Wednesday. However, two charges against him indicate the juvenile was younger than 16. Their age difference is between 8 and 11 years, police said.

The child also told investigators about the sexual encounters.

Smith was arraigned Tuesday and jailed in lieu of $25,000 bond, according to online court records. He did not have an attorney listed. A preliminary hearing is set for March 12.

He was sentenced to 12 months in a probationary program for a February 2017 drunken-driving charge, but later served 48 hours to six months in jail after being arrested for another drunken-driving offense in December 2017, according to online court records. He was sentenced to five days to six months and one year of probation on the second arrest. He was released from probation in the second case in July.