Golo

Ex-Pa. officer guilty of sex crimes while on duty

Posted Updated

NEW BLOOMFIELD, Pa. — A former small-town police officer has been convicted of molesting or propositioning more than a dozen teenage girls for sex while on duty.

Jurors deliberated for about 10 hours Saturday before finding Robert J. Pavlovich Jr. guilty of charges including corruption of minors, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and bribery in official matters.

Pavlovich, 40, of Camp Hill, took the stand during the three-day trial and denied that he had sex with any of the accusers, touched them improperly or asked them to sneak out of their homes.

However, the former Marysville officer said he did ask three teenage girls to meet him late at night as part of an investigation into drug activity and underage drinking. No one was arrested based on information he received from them, he said.

Several women testified that Pavlovich tried to persuade them to sneak out of their homes and meet him when they were 13 or 14. They said they believed he intended to have sex with them. Others testified that Pavlovich fondled them, and one woman who has been diagnosed with a mental disability testified that she was pressured to perform oral sex on Pavlovich when she was 19.

The allegations date back to 2000, the year Pavlovich was hired. He was suspended in March 2007 and later fired. No sentencing date was been set. There was no immediate word on a possible sentence; the attorney general did not respond to calls Sunday. Defense lawyer P. Richard Wagner and the Pavlovich family did not comment.

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Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Disgusting piece of trash.
Praying for his victims, and his family.