A 20-year-old Summit Township man is facing felony charges after a 13-year-old girl told police he touched her inappropriately while she sat on his lap at his home. Jeffrey Allen Bergbigler has been charged with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age, and corruption of minors, according to the allegations laid out in charging documents.
The charges were filed Thursday, October 1, in the district judge's office in Chicora, as reported by Butler Eagle. The outlet reported that state police filed one felony count of unlawful contact with a minor along with misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors. No preliminary hearing date had been scheduled as of the time the charges became public, according to ButlerRadio.com, which first reported on the case this week.
Conflicting Accounts of When the Incident Happened
Reports differ on exactly when the alleged assault took place. ButlerRadio.com reported that the incident happened in April 2026 in Summit Township, while Butler Eagle reported that police said the incident occurred on or about April 11, 2025, at Bergbigler's home in the same township. Both outlets agree on the core allegation even as the timing remains in dispute between the two reports.
According to the station's account, the 13-year-old victim was with another juvenile and Bergbigler, then 20, when the alleged incident occurred. The victim was reportedly sitting on Bergbigler's lap inside his room at the time. Per the same report, Bergbigler allegedly placed his hand under the victim's shirt and attempted to put his hand down her pants.
What the Victim and a Second Juvenile Told Investigators
Butler Eagle's account, citing police, states that the victim was on Bergbigler's lap when he began touching her over and underneath her clothes, and that he continued touching her even after she told him no. The outlet also reported that Bergbigler attempted to kiss the girl after the other juvenile left the room.
A second juvenile was not in the room when the alleged incident happened but told police, per the charging documents cited by ButlerRadio.com, that Bergbigler had been showing them how to cuddle and had touched the victim's side and legs. Bergbigler denied all of the allegations and told police he never touched the victim, the station reported.
The Charges Bergbigler Faces
Pennsylvania's indecent assault statute applies in cases where the complainant is younger than 16, the accused is at least four years older, and the two are not married, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The state's corruption-of-minors law separately addresses anyone 18 or older whose actions corrupt or tend to corrupt the morals of a person younger than 18, per the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
As of this week's reporting, no preliminary hearing date had been set for Bergbigler, and neither available report detailed whether he was arrested, released, or represented by counsel. The case remains in its early stages, with the charges filed only days before the reports became public.
