Woman charged with sexually abusing girl, 8

August 30, 2010|By DAN DEARTH

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HAGERSTOWN -- A Hagerstown woman has been charged with several counts of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl earlier this summer in a residence northeast of Hagerstown and possession of child pornography.

Patricia Ann Tasker, 19, of 1337 Jay Drive in Hagerstown, was charged Friday with one count each of second-degree sex offense, third-degree sex offense, fourth-degree sex offense, second-degree sex assault, second-degree child abuse, second-degree assault, sex abuse of a minor, perverted practice, possession of child pornography, possession of child pornography on a computer and allowing a minor to engage as a subject in sexual misconduct, according to records obtained from Washington County District Court.

Tasker was arrested Friday and taken to the Washington County Detention Center, where she was held on $70,000 bail.

District Court Judge W. Milnor Roberts kept Tasker's bail at $70,000 during a bail review hearing Monday, despite a statement from Assistant State's Attorney Liz Carranza, who said the state believed Tasker's bail was too low. The hearing was held via closed-circuit television between the courthouse and detention center.

Authorities learned about the alleged incident Aug. 16 when the girl's mother went to the Washington County Sheriff's Office and told Sgt. Robert Whittington that she found a six- to seven-minute pornographic video of her daughter on Tasker's laptop computer, court documents show. The mother said the video was taken in the living room of her residence while Tasker was working there as a live-in baby-sitter.

Tasker had moved in with the girl's family May 31, the mother told authorities.

The mother's name and address are not being published to protect the identity of the child.

On Aug. 17, detectives executed a search and seizure warrant on Tasker's laptop and found the video on the computer, the statement of probable cause alleges. A file on the computer indicated the video was created June 23, the court document says.

Detective Casey Barnes said in the statement of probable cause that the findings prompted her to interview the girl Friday morning at the Washington County Child Advocacy Center.

"(The child) disclosed that (Tasker) did something bad to her," Barnes wrote in the court document.

Barnes also alleged in the statement of probable cause that the girl confirmed Tasker was in the room when the video was made.

Conviction on all of the charges would result in a maximum sentence of 116 years in prison and $57,000 in fines, according to court documents.

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