Brookville Man Charged With Having Sex with 13-Year-Old Girl Waives Hearing

JEFFERSON CO., Pa. (EYT) – A Brookville man waived his hearing on Tuesday on statutory sexual assault and related charges after reportedly admitting to having intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

Court documents indicate the following charges against 21-year-old Matthew Hunter Birch were waived for court on April 6:

– Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse Person Less Than 16 Yrs Age, Felony 1
– Unlawful Contact With Minor – Sexual Offenses, Felony 1
– Statutory Sexual Assault: 4-8 Years Older, Felony 2
– Aggravated Indecent Assault – Complainant Less Than 16, Felony 2
– Corruption of Minors – Defendant Age 18 or Above, Felony 3

The charges have been transferred to the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas.

Birch remains free on $30,000.00 unsecured bail.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, around 4:50 p.m. on February 16, Brookville Borough Police were requested to assist Children and Youth Services (CYS) with a Childline report regarding a known 13-year-old female juvenile who was possibly sexually assaulted.

Police also discovered a known juvenile spoke to a school employee, and allegedly told the employee a known female victim had sex with Matthew Birch.

Police then met a CYS representative at the victim’s residence to complete an interview.

According to the complaint, the victim told police Birch “asked for (her) permission” before having intercourse with her.

Police also returned to the residence where the incident allegedly occurred and collected a bed sheet that had reportedly not been changed since the incident.

The complaint notes the victim also showed police a visible spot on the floor where she believed Birch had possibly left bodily fluids, and Brookville Police then contacted Punxsutawney-based State Police regarding preservation and collection of possible DNA evidence from the carpet. The spots were later swabbed, collected, and photographed.

The victim was also interviewed at the Western PA Cares for Kids office.

During the interview, the victim again said she did have intercourse with Birch, according to the complaint.

She also told police that her cousin had seen a message on her phone and then went to a school employee to report it because the message was about getting the “morning after pill.”

Police then asked for the victim’s consent to search her phone and consent was granted.

Birch was also interviewed about the incident.

According to the complaint, Birch admitted to having intercourse with the victim and also admitted to exchanging sexual messages and photos with the victim on Snapchat. He also reportedly admitted to speaking to the victim about “the pill.”

Birch was arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Gregory M. Bazylak at 9:40 a.m. on March 3.

EDITOR’S NOTE 1: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crimes.

EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Several details were removed from this article to help protect the identity of the victim.


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