CLEARFIELD, Pa. – A Clearfield man accused of sexually assaulting two girls is facing additional charges for intimidating witnesses.
(This article was provided by our News Partner GantDaily.com.)
Justin James Centra, 40, was originally charged by Lawrence Township police in August with two felony counts each of aggravated indecent assault of a child, three counts of corruption of minors, as well as misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure and terroristic threats in connection to sexual assaults on a 12-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl.
While incarcerated in the county jail, Centra allegedly hand wrote 16 letters between Nov. 2 and Dec. 3 to the family and one of the victims asking them to do various things including writing to the district attorney and judge saying they think the girls are lying because it might “help get me out of here.”
According to the affidavit, Centra repeatedly asked to go over their stories.
“We need to wright about everything we can remember that morning so (we) are on the same page.”
He reportedly also mentions speaking to the girl’s counselor and how “wrong the cops and DA and State is” about his case. He tells them to “not keep this letter. Do not show it to anyone.”
In addition, calls between a family member and Centra from Aug 28 and Dec. 18 from the jail that records all calls, indicate that he wanted this person to take the victim to the courthouse to talk to the DA to “tell them you are not leaving the courthouse until they release me” because she had lied and to call the second victim a liar, according to the complaint.
Centra is now charged with 20 felony counts of intimidating a witness/victim false/misleading testimony, 20 misdemeanor counts of intimidates or intends to intimidate person from providing or withholding information, and 20 misdemeanor counts of obstruction in child abuse cases.
A preliminary hearing on the new charges was continued from Wednesday to Feb. 24.
Centra is being held in the county jail on $50,000 bail in this case and $125,000 bail in the original case.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the original case, the first victim was staying overnight with a friend at Centra’s residence in Lawrence Township when she awoke around 3:00 a.m. because someone was touching her.
She saw Centra kneeling beside the bed. He was reportedly trying to get into her pants, touching her private area outside of her pants and rubbing her legs.
She said she tried to act as if she were still asleep and rolled over to stop him. He then asked if she wanted to see his “thing” and asked if she would show him her “thing”, according to the complaint.
Multiple times he said “don’t say anything”.
The girl was able to send a message to a nearby friend asking if her mother could pick her up and take her home. She told them to park up the street so Centra would not see them.
As she was putting on her shoes and running out of the home, Centra came to the door asking her to come back multiple times.
Police were able to obtain the messages between the victim who said she would explain later and her friend.
When the girl got home, her mother was awakened by their dogs barking and asked why she was home. She only said she never wanted to go back to that residence.
Eventually the victim told her mother what had happened and explained how she got home.
Her mother contacted authorities.
When the mother spoke with police, she stated that Centra has anger issues and was always getting into fights with family members. She went on to say that some people are afraid of Centra and what he might do because he has firearms at his home.
Once the victim’s friend learned what had happened, she reportedly texted the victim saying Centra had been sexually assaulting her for years.
The victim’s friend, now victim #2, was then questioned at the Child Advocacy Center in Clearfield.
In this interview she stated that the first time Centra assaulted her was in December when she was 10-years-old. She allegedly woke up to find him “thrusting” up and down on top of her.
On other occasions he took her hand and put it down his pants, got into bed with her and stuck his hands down her pants, and stood in front of her, dropped his boxers and asked if she wanted to “grab it,” she told investigators.
Additional incidents of him touching her and making her touch him happened after he forced her to sit in a recliner with him and made her lay over the center console of a car, according to authorities.
This victim reported he had been abusive to her for years and on multiple occasions would strike her, push her into a wall, and throw things at her.
The criminal complaint notes that Centra had prior arrests for domestic incidents one which involved victim #2 who had suffered a golf ball sized lump on her head.
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