The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

September 25, 2009

UPDATE: Child rape case goes to court

By Matt Snyder

SANDY LAKE — A Sandy Lake man had felonies including rape of a child held to court against him for allegedly having sex with a 12-year-old girl, who was later found to be pregnant.

Andrew William Bennefield, 26, of 41 Bennefield Lane, had charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, and rape of a child held to court before District Judge D. Neil McEwen on Wednesday.

Bennefield is accused of having sex with the girl on May 21 and 22 while staying overnight in the same Grove City home as the victim, police said.

The girl was sleeping in the same room as Bennefield and several others, and asked him for a glass of water, police said. He fetched it and met her in the dining room on the way back.

Police said the girl, then 12, hugged Bennefield and that they kissed and had sex in the dining room and later a bedroom. Bennefield did not use a condom, she said, and when police asked if Bennefield had ejaculated, the girl told police she did not know what that word meant.

The pair also had sex June 21 in the same home while she was 13 years old, the victim told police.

A July 1 blood test confirmed the 13-year-old girl is four to six weeks pregnant, said the victim’s mother.

Bennefield later confessed in a written statement to having sex with the girl on May 21, but denied any contact with her in June.

Text Only
Local News
  • Recycling program a bit too popular

    The  county’s effort at going green by encouraging recycling in rural areas has been a tremendous success by most accounts, but isn’t without a few glitches. In Wilmington Township, residents often only have a window of a few minutes to get cardboard recyclables in before the bin is full, prompting a discussion among Mercer County Commissioners Wednesday morning.

    May 25, 2012

  • District will tap reserve fund

    Reynolds school directors plan to fill a $374,567 hole in the 2012-2013 budget with money from the district’s fund balance.

    May 25, 2012

  • School board mulls change to sports chaperone policy

    In order to comply with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Sharpsville Area School Board is looking to adjust a chaperone policy it implemented six months ago.

    May 25, 2012

  • Afternoon crash hurts 3 high school students

    Three Jamestown High School students were injured – one seriously – when their pickup left a roadway in southwest Crawford County and crashed into a tree Tuesday afternoon.

    May 24, 2012

  • Board sells some, holds some

    Brookfield Board of Education members voted Tuesday to accept only the bids for the elementary school and the middle school, for a total of $97,050.
    The decision came after an hour-long executive session.

    May 24, 2012

  • Levey: Kohl’s project died with school vote

    Stripped of the necessity of voting for a tax incremental finance plan by Hermitage School Board’s unwillingness to participate, Mercer County commissioners said Wednesday they would like to meet with school board and Hermitage city officials to discuss other ways they can help Levey and Co. build a retail development in the city.

    But Levey spokeswoman Jeffrey A. Mills said there is nothing to discuss.

    May 24, 2012

  • Warden expects hectic season at county jail

    With the unofficial start of summer just a few days away, Mercer County Jail officials are preparing for a busy season.

    May 23, 2012

  • Levey officially drops TIF request

    Levey & Co. has officially ended its request for a tax incremental financing plan to build a retail development anchored by a Kohl’s department store.

    May 23, 2012

  • Grant will pay to fix 12-15 homes



    The City of Farrell will be able to fix up about a dozen homes in the city thanks to a $300,000 HOME grant from the state.

    May 23, 2012

  • Hard budget choices yet to come


     
    Hermitage School Board has been fortunate in many ways during the economic downturn that has been so hard on many other schools.

    May 23, 2012