A Greensburg man was arrested Wednesday on state police accusations that he raped a boy and sexually assaulted another in Unity nearly three years ago, according to court papers.
Steven Michael Cope Jr., 25, is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $25,000 bail.
Troopers said they received a ChildLine report in May 2019 regarding sexual assaults involving two boys, ages 5 and 10, in March 2018. The boys told investigators during a forensic interview that Cope touched their genitals and buttocks and masturbated in front of one of them, according to court papers. Police said Cope offered one of the boys $50 in exchange for a sex act and the boy refused.
During a more recent interview, one of the boys told authorities that Cope raped him, according to court papers.
Police said Cope was uncooperative during multiple attempts to discuss the allegations by phone. He didn’t show up at a scheduled in-person meeting at the state police station and troopers couldn’t reach him, according to court papers.
Cope is facing 23 counts including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault of a child, corruption of minors, simple assault and related offenses. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 22.
Cope currently is on county probation in connection with two theft cases, according to online court records. He was sentenced in October to six months of probation on a March case filed by Greensburg police. In September, he was sentenced to two years of probation on a 2015 case in Jeannette.
