A 40-year-old volunteer fire captain in Northampton Borough is behind bars on felony charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in his garage in August 2018, a case that sat untouched by police for more than seven years before detectives reopened it this spring. Michael A. Dempsey Jr. was committed to Northampton County Prison after failing to post $50,000 bail, and court records show he currently has no attorney representing him in the case.
Court records filed on August 11, 2026 charge Dempsey with two felony counts of aggravated indecent assault involving a victim under 16, along with felony unlawful contact with a minor and felony corruption of minors, according to Lehigh Valley Breaking News. The girl told investigators Dempsey inappropriately touched her in his garage after a picnic the previous summer, as reported by NBC10 Philadelphia. Dempsey was 32 at the time and the alleged victim was 14, per the outlet's account of the case.
Dempsey served as a volunteer Captain, listed under Captain 4256, with the Northampton Borough Fire Department and appeared publicly in December 2025 as part of the department's 2026–2027 officer lineup. The fire department has suspended him from his duties effective immediately, NBC10 Philadelphia reports, and the department says it conducts criminal background checks and child abuse clearance checks of its members, as required by law. Military records also identify Dempsey as a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's Headquarters Support Company within the 628th Aviation Support Battalion.
A Case That Sat Dormant for Seven Years
The girl confided in her therapist in April 2019, and that therapist, a mandated reporter, filed a ChildLine report with Northampton Borough police the same month, according to NBC10 Philadelphia's reporting. Police made initial contact with the victim following that report, but the investigation then stalled for more than seven years after the victim's family moved to Florida, per the same account. Under Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law, mandatory reporters such as therapists must make an immediate oral report to ChildLine upon suspecting child abuse, followed by a written report within 48 hours, according to a summary from Andreozzi + Foote.
The case only moved again after Northampton Borough Police Chief Bryan Kadingo directed a detective to review the open file this past May. The detective then contacted the woman again in Florida, and she agreed to testify, telling the detective she remembered the assault, per NBC10 Philadelphia, like it happened yesterday. Kadingo, the outlet reports, said he was unsure whether the case had been resolved correctly the first time around. Northampton Borough police have since opened a full investigation into the allegations.
DA's Office Says It Moved Quickly Once Notified
Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said his office only recently became aware of and became involved in the allegations, and that it moved quickly to review them this summer once notified. Baratta said the relevant facts concern what happened in 2018 and what evidence can be presented before a jury to support the charges. Baratta took office in January 2024 after serving 25 years as a Northampton County Common Pleas judge, and he previously served as First Assistant District Attorney, according to Northampton County.
Kadingo, who ordered the file review, was appointed police chief in September 2017 after more than 27 years with the borough police force, having previously served as a sergeant and second-in-command, according to the Lehigh Valley Press. Northampton Borough spans 2.7 square miles along the Lehigh River and had a population of 10,395 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, policed by a force of 16 full-time officers, per the same publication's coverage of the municipality.
Why the Case Could Still Move Forward
The years-long gap between the initial report and the criminal charges is not a legal barrier in Pennsylvania. Under state law, prosecution for sexual offenses against a minor can be brought anytime up to the victim's 55th birthday, according to RAINN, effectively eliminating a statute-of-limitations barrier for delayed child abuse cases like this one. That extended window is what allows Baratta's office to pursue charges eight years after the alleged incident, relying on testimony from a woman who was a young teenager at the time.
Dempsey has a preliminary hearing scheduled for August 25 before Magisterial District Judge Robert A. Hawke, where a judge will determine whether enough evidence exists to send the felony charges to trial. It remains unclear why no documented investigative action occurred between the 2019 ChildLine report and Kadingo's order to reopen the file this past May, a gap the department has not fully explained.
