SYKESVILLE, Pa. – A Jefferson County who allegedly inappropriately touched a young girl is due in court next week.
Court documents indicate 66-year-old Barry Lee Anderson, of Sykesville, is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29.
He faces the following charge:
– Indecent Assault Without Consent of Other, Misdemeanor 2
According to a criminal complaint, an incident allegedly occurred sometime between 2:13 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on March 27 on Barry Anderson‘s front porch when a known victim walked up looking for Anderson’s daughter, and Anderson asked the victim if she had ever had sex and then rubbed her leg. The victim then pushed Anderson’s hand away.
Anderson allegedly got up from his chair and attempted to hug the victim and touched her genital area. The victim then pushed him away again and ran to a neighbor’s residence.
Interview with Victim’s Father
Around 7:25 p.m. on January 8, Trooper Strishock, of the DuBois-based State Police, interviewed the victim’s father who reported he was at a relative’s house when his daughter came running in visibly upset. The man stated the victim said Anderson touched her private parts. The man said he wanted to talk to Anderson himself, but thought he better not due to a potential physical confrontation. He stated there were a lot of people in the neighborhood who believe Anderson had touched other kids inappropriately and said he had told his daughter to stay away from Anderson.
Interview with Victim
Around 7:45 p.m. Trooper Strishock interviewed the victim.
According to the complaint, the victim stated Anderson was sitting on his porch smoking a cigarette when she approached him. She reported that Anderson first asked her if she smoked cigarettes, and she told him she did not, and then he asked if she had ever had sex, and she said no again. The victim said he then got up and acted like he was going to go in the house and call his daughter, but he ran his hand down her thigh, and she pushed him away. She reported he then came forward and tried to hug her as he put one of his hands on her genital area on top of her clothing. She then ran off the porch and went to a neighbor’s house.
Interview with Anderson
Around 8:05 p.m. Trooper Strishock interviewed Anderson.
Anderson allegedly stated he was sitting on his porch smoking a cigarette when the victim came looking for his daughter. He stated the victim “looked like she wanted one of his cigarettes,” so he asked her if she smoked.
According to the complaint, Anderson stated the victim said yes, but he did not give her a cigarette since he did not have any more outside with him.
Trooper Strishock then informed Anderson of the allegations against him.
According to the complaint, he acted surprised and said: “Why would I do that?” But, at the same time, extended his hands to his sides and shook his head yes.
The complaint notes that at first Anderson stated he never touched the victim, but when asked if he “accidentally” touched the victim, he admitted he “fell into” the victim when he tried to get up and explained he has an artificial leg and is unsteady at times. Anderson claimed he tripped on the cord underneath the rug on the porch, and the complaint notes Trooper Strishock did observe a cord under the rug leading out to Christmas decorations in the front yard.
According to the complaint, Anderson stated when he fell, one hand went to the railing and the other he thought touched the victim’s leg and stomach area. When asked if his hand could have gone lower, Anderson said he “did not think so.”
When asked if he ever touched the victim inappropriately or tried to hug her, Anderson allegedly said no, and when asked if he touched her genital area, he said: “No, why would I do that?” He also allegedly denied asking the victim if she ever had sex and stated he “does not know why the victim is making these accusations, but she is lying about it” and agreed to a polygraph test.
Interview with Neighbor
Around 8:22 p.m. Corporal Borden interviewed a neighbor of Anderson’s.
The neighbor advised that the victim had come to his residence earlier in the day and seemed visibly upset, according to the complaint.
The neighbor asked her what was wrong and she told him that “Barry,” who lives up the street, had asked her if she wanted to smoke, and she said no, and then he asked her if she ever had sex and touched her leg. The neighbor indicated the victim pointed to her upper, inner thigh area.
According to the complaint, the neighbor told the victim to go tell her father what happened, and she then left his residence and went to get her father.
During additional questioning, the neighbor clarified that by “visibly upset,” he did not mean the victim was crying but was “really worked up” and “talking super fast like something had just happened.” When asked if he thought the victim was telling the truth about the incident, he said “I don’t know,” and further stated that he told the victim she needed to tell her father what happened only if it really happened, the complaint notes.
Anderson Takes Polygraph Test
Polygraph examiner Corporal Higgins met Anderson at 10:30 a.m. on February 22 at the DuBois-based State Police barracks.
According to to the complaint, during the interview, Anderson explained that he is in poor health, has a prosthetic leg, and suffers from spinal stenosis, sciatic nerve issues, bronchial asthma, arthritis, and chronic back pain.
The complaint notes that Anderson appeared to be uncomfortable, moved often, and had a cough.
When Corporal Higgins asked Anderson how he felt about being asked to take a polygraph test, Anderson said: “I felt…really depressed, like nobody believes me,” according to the complaint.
Corporal Higgins then asked how Anderson thought he would do on the examination, and Anderson said: “Probably poorly.”
The complaint notes that when Corporal Higgins asked him, “You don’t want to take this test, do you?” Anderson admitted that he did not. Corporal Higgins then asked him to explain what occurred during the incident.
According to the complaint, Anderson admitted he asked the victim if she had a boyfriend but said he never said anything to her about having sex. He also admitted to asking if she was smoking but said he never offered her a cigarette. As previously, he stated that when he stood up, he tripped because of his prosthetic leg, and as he began to fall, he reached out to grab the porch railing and one arm did touch the victim. He reported that she backed up, but didn’t say anything, just stood there looking at him and then left. Anderson again denied that he intentionally touched the victim and stated it was not sexual touching.
The complaint notes that the only difference in his version of events was that he described to Trooper Strishock that he fell forward toward the victim while he told Corporal Higgins he was falling backward.
Following his recounting of the event. Corporal Higgins explained to Anderson that the victim’s statement seemed credible and asked him if perhaps she was mistaken about something that occurred on the porch. Corporal Higgins then asked him if he hugged the victim, and she got the wrong impression.
According to the complaint, Anderson said he did not hug her.
Portions of Trooper Strishock’s report of what the victim stated happened to her was read to Anderson. When he got to where the victim reported that Anderson hugged her and touched her genital area over her clothing, Anderson seemed surprised and again stated he did not touch her crotch and he never hugged her, the complaint states.
Corporal Higgins then asked Anderson why the victim would make up a story like this.
According to the complaint, Anderson said he didn’t know and repeated that he only brushed against her with his hand while falling, and when Corporal Higgins asked him if there was anything more than occurred, he said there was not.
The complaint notes that when Corporal Higgins stated that it seemed that there was something more to the incident that what Anderson was saying, Anderson became very defensive and raised his voice. Corporal Higgins attempted to explain he was not accusing him but needed to know everything that occurred to understand if the victim was mistaken about anything.
According to the complaint, while Corporal Higgins was speaking, Anderson got up and put his jacket on and said he will go to court and was “not doing this” because he didn’t believe him. The interview was then ended.
Based on the investigation, the charge was filed in Magisterial District Judge David B. Inzana’s office on Monday, April 1.
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