CLEARFIELD – A Clearfield man has been accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl.
Mark R. Malloy, 36, has been charged with two counts each of felony aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors, as well as two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.
Malloy waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday, sending his case to county court for further disposition. Bail is set at $25,000 unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the investigation began in May of 2021 when Clearfield Borough police received a child welfare report.
The report stated that Malloy tried to “inappropriately involve” himself with the girl on May 5. He was warned for his behavior, but it continued.
During a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center, the girl said in summer of 2020, Malloy inappropriately touched her. She said it was painful, and also made her scared and nervous.
Police attempted to contact Malloy several times about the case with negative results until he was observed near the station and agreed to speak with the officer.
Malloy said he liked to hang out with the girl because he was lonely but denied that he ever touched her inappropriately. He was also interviewed by State Police Cpl. Matthew Higgins.
This time he said the girl put his hand near her thigh, but that he pulled it away. He admitted to occasionally rubbing the girl’s back or stomach, saying he could have touched her private area.
When asked how many times this occurred, Malloy allegedly commented, “one time for sure,” but indicating he wasn’t sure about other occasions.