CLEARFIELD – A Beccaria man is facing six different felony charges for allegedly raping an 8-year-old girl.
Byron Keith Carter, 58, was charged on Nov. 22 by state police with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a child, aggravated indecent assault-less than 13-years-old, sexual assault, and indecent assault person less than 13-years-old in connection with an incident on May 6 in Bigler Township.
Carter waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court, sending the case on to the county court. He remains in the county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the assault was reported to police on May 7 with the attack occurring at a camper on Pine Run Road while Carter was babysitting the girl and her friend.
During an interview at the Clearfield County Child Advocacy Center on May 22, the girl explained she was sleeping in a nearby tent with her friend but couldn’t sleep and she decided to go into the camper.
“He got in the bed with me and that’s when things started to happen,” she told the authorities.
She stated she was clothed, but Carter was naked when he got into the bed.
When he was questioned on Sept. 13, Carter claimed the victim wanted to sleep in the camper where she only had a bench style seat to sleep on. He stated he slept in the driver’s seat.
The victim was examined shortly after the alleged assault and evidence collected with a sexual assault kit that was sent to the crime lab for processing. Among the samples taken were suspected sperm and saliva.
After samples were taken from Carter in October, they were compared to the ones taken from the girl. Both the sperm and saliva DNA matched Carter’s samples, according to the report.