CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man is accused of kissing and inappropriately touching a teenage girl at a local school.
Brandon Michael Socash, 18, was originally charged by Officer Zachary Cowan of the Lawrence Township police with felony corruption of minors/defendant age 18 or above and misdemeanor indecent assault.
Socash waived the corruption of minors charge to county court on Wednesday at his preliminary hearing. The indecent assault charge was withdrawn and his bail was set at $5,000 unsecured.
The case stems from an incident that occurred April 25 at the Soaring Heights School, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed with the office of Magisterial District Judge Mike Morris.
The following day, Cowan received a report detailing the incident from the county’s Children & Youth Services Department. It stated that Socash had lost his cell phone while at the school and asked if he could look in an upstairs apartment used to teach life skills.
Socash asked to take another student, a 14-year-old girl, because she was using her phone to call his phone in their effort to find it. A teacher later went upstairs to look for the students and saw Socash leaving the upstairs area.
The teacher observed the apartment door was closed and opened it, at which time she reportedly observed the girl only partially clothed. The teacher said the girl’s shirt was lifted and she was pulling her pants up.
When Socash and the girl were confronted, both denied that anything had happened between them.
On May 10, the girl was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County. Based upon the results, Cowan requested an interview with her at the police station.
During the interview, the girl disclosed that she and Socash were close friends and had previously been in a relationship. She also admitted that she was trying to protect him because she cared about him.
She told Cowan that she and Socash had planned on going upstairs to hang out together, which they did for approximately an hour. She said there’s an area that appears to be a closet, which is where they spent most of their time.
The girl said Socash made advances towards her and she allowed it. She said he had her sit on his lap and they kissed, but this escalated to him touching her over her shirt.
She said when Socash went to remove her pants, she told him she didn’t want to continue. She said he obeyed her wishes and left the room, which was when the teacher came in.
Cowan asked the girl about her relationship with Socash. She said they had been together but not currently because he had concerns about the police finding out due to their age difference.
On May 15, Cowan conducted an interview with Socash, who was initially deceptive but then became cooperative. He admitted to having a previous relationship with the girl and being aware of her age.
He repeatedly commented that he was annoyed by the age difference and didn’t want to end up in a cell in jail with his cousin. Cowan was familiar with Socash’s cousin because he had arrested him for similar behavior with young girls.
Socash allegedly admitted to kissing and inappropriately touching the girl at the school.