DUBOIS – A man accused of binding a child had a preliminary hearing on Friday.
Jeremy A. May is accused of unlawful restraint/serious bodily injury, unlawful restraint/involuntary servitude, endangering the welfare of children, and related charges.
The alleged victim’s grandmother took the stand and said that May, the child’s father, ate dinner with her family on Thanksgiving. Shortly after dropping him off, she said she received a text message from may with a photo of her 4-year-old granddaughter bound wrist to ankle, with a towel over her head. She said a message was attached to the photo, which read, “This works when they won’t listen.”
The grandmother said she received a similar message a short time later, with the caption, “This does to.”
The grandmother was asked by Assistant District Attorney Beau Grove how seeing those photos made her feel.
“I got sick,” she said. The grandmother said she and her husband agonized about what to do that night. She testified that her husband contacted the police the next day, and that Children, Youth and Family Services became involved.
Sgt. Shawn McCleary testified that he spoke with the alleged victim, who told him she was scared and that she asked May to stop. She also told him she couldn’t breathe. The girl told him it happened at least three times. McCleary also talked with May. McCleary said he told him she was only tied up for a minute. According to the affidavit of probable cause, he told McCleary it only happened once, and that he did it as a joke toward the grandmother.
After hearing the case, Magisterial District Judge Patrick Ford bound all charges to the Court of Common Pleas. May is currently incarcerated.