Shippensburg man accused of sexually molesting boy

Bradley G. Shearer allegedly assaulted him over a period of 10 years, beginning when the boy was 6

June 19, 2012|By ROXANN MILLER | roxann.miller@herald-mail.com

Shearer

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — A Shippensburg, Pa., man who ran for elective office in 2011 is facing charges that he sexually assaulted a boy during a 10-year period starting when the child was 6 years old.

Bradley G. Shearer, 44, of 27 Tiffany Drive is charged with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, a first-degree felony; three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a first-degree felony; two counts of indecent assault, a first-degree misdemeanor; and one count of endangering the welfare of children, a third-degree felony.

Shearer’s mandatory arraignment is set for Wednesday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. in Franklin County Central Court, according to Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Lauren Sulcove.

Shearer ran as a Republican candidate for Southampton Township Board of Supervisors in the 2011 Franklin County primary election. He lost the election, coming in third with about 11 percent of the 396 votes, according to Franklin County (Pa.) election results.

Chambersburg police said that Shearer was taken into custody at his home at 11:50 on Thursday and charged with sexually abusing the boy from October 1998 to October 2009. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Glenn Manns and placed in Franklin County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, police said.

A Chambersburg police detective met with the alleged victim on June 1, according to the affidavit of probable cause. The alleged victim, now 19, said Shearer began abusing him when he was 6 or 7 and continued the abuse until he was 16, the affidavit said.

The man said that he had never spoken to anyone about the incidents “out of embarrassment and shame,” the police report said.

The man said Shearer touched him in a sexually inappropriate way, and that the incidents occurred as often as three to four times a week, the report said.

The incidents became a matter of routine, and Shearer allegedly would only allow the alleged victim to do things or give him permission to do something if “he made him happy,” the report said.

When the boy was 16, the report said that he was big enough to stand up to Shearer, and the assaults stopped.

The young man told police that he attempted to avoid contact with Shearer after that time.

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