While Schuylkill County experienced murder and theft in 2012, of particular note to law enforcement was an increase in arrests for sexual offenses against minors. Meanwhile, among the thefts of were cases of people stealing from organizations that had entrusted them with their financial well-being.
Photos lead to arrest
On Dec. 20, Robert Lee Raeder Jr., 44, of 107 Gay St., Tamaqua, was arrested by state police at Frackville and charged with raping a young girl and sexually abusing another girl in 2001.
Raeder was charged with one felony count each of rape of a child and aggravated indecent assault; two felony counts each of sexual abuse of children and unlawful contact with a minor; two misdemeanor counts each of corruption of minors and indecent assault; and one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure.
He remains in Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $100,000 straight cash bail.
Police charged Raeder with the crimes after an April 29 community cleanup along Valley Road in Walker Township uncovered 53 Polaroid pictures depicting child nudity and sexual assault.
The pictures were eventually linked back to Raeder, who admitted committing the crimes and disposing of the snapshots.
Teacher charged
A Lancaster County man who served as a teacher in the Pine Grove Area School District was charged by state police at Schuylkill Haven with trying to get a teenage student to have sex with him.
Matthew R. Pfautz, then 29, of Blue Jay Drive, Stevens, was charged with corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor.
The charges against Pfautz stem from incidents involving a 17-year-old girl at the Pine Grove Area High School and in the borough between Sept. 11, 2011, and May 30, police said.
During that time period, police said Pfautz, both in person and via text messaging, enticed the teenager to perform sexual acts with him both in and out of the school building.
Men charged with assaulting boys
In February, McAdoo police arrested Clark E. Mead, then 28, of 129 Tobyhanna Road, Box 753, Gouldsboro, and charged him with six felony counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and indecent assault of a person under the age of 13 along with two felony counts each of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.
Police allege Mead raped two boys ages 5 and 4 in the borough between August of 2005 and June of 2006.
Rush Township police in May arrested a then-79-year-old Barnesville man and charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy over a seven-month period
Gene S. Lutz, 36 Hilltop Road, was charged with of eight felony counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16 years old and corruption of minors along with two misdemeanor counts each of indecent exposure and indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.
Several charged in assaults on girls
In August, Hegins Township police charged a then-31-year-old Tremont man with sexually assaulting two girls a month earlier.
Sgt. Beau Yarmush charged Alan R. Donmoyer, 423 W. Main St., with one felony count each of aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors; two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault; one misdemeanor count of corruption of minors; and a summary charge of driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked.
Yarmush said the assaults occurred in the area of Old Mill Road and involved girls who were 14 and 16 at the time.
In July, state police at Frackville charged an Oklahoma man with raping a teenage girl in Kline Township in June.
Alexander G. Leshko, then 40, of the 200 block of Fir Ave., Elgin, was charged with one count each of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as six counts each of unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
Police said that the victim, a 16-year-old from Elgin, Okla., reported that between June 15 ad 23 Leshko entered her room at 234 Haddock Road numerous times and touched her inappropriately.
Leshko was interviewed and admitted that he touched the girl on numerous occasions and also forced the teenager to touch him as well.
Child suffocated
Pottsville police charged Jennifer K. Bossler, then 28, on April 19 for suffocating her 13-month-old son weeks earlier, on April 1.
Pottsville police De-tective Steven Guers charged Bossler with one felony count each of criminal homicide and aggravated assault stemming from the death of James Blake Bossler.
Pottsville police and Pottsville-Schuylkill Haven Area EMS were called to the home about 5:30 p.m. and found the child in cardiac arrest. The boy was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street and pronounced dead a short time later.
Police began their investigation into the death that culminated with Bossler admitting to causing the death of her son.
Man bludgeoned to death
Also in April, state police at Frackville arrested Jarvin Malik Huggins, then 18, of Mahanoy City, and charged him with killing another borough man by beating him with a cast-iron window weight inside his home during a burglary.
Huggins was charged with felony criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, theft by unlawful taking and criminal trespass as well as misdemeanor offenses of theft by unlawful taking and unauthorized use of automobiles stemming from the death of Gene M. Slavinsky inside the man's 408 W. Centre St. home.
Slavinsky was found on the basement floor of the home with what appeared to be severe head injuries caused by blunt force trauma. The cause of death was determined to be homicide and Huggins linked to the crime.
Also in Mahanoy City, on Christmas Day, Richard C. Weikel, 37, shot his wife, Stephanie, inside their home at 3 N. 10th St. and then turned the gun on himself.
Borough police have not said whether they have a motive for why Weikel committed the acts.
Missing money
Two people were charged with stealing money from the organizations of which they were either a member or employee.
In May, the former treasurer of the Mahanoy Area Youth Wrestling Club was charged with stealing more than $10,000 from the organization while serving as its treasurer.
Kelly M. Lewandowski, then 40, of 1022 Main St., Gilberton was charged with one felony count each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.
Lewandowski was arrested by Mahanoy City police Chief Mark Wiekrykas and Schuylkill County Detective Dorothy Malec and charged with allegedly stealing $11,320 from the group between February 2007 and December 2010.
Wiekrykas said the charges reflect only the amount of $10,860 because the remaining amount is out of the statute of limitations to be included as offenses.
In October, Minersville police charged a woman with stealing more than $50,000 over a three-year period while employed by Goodwill Fire Company, Minersville, and Minersville EMS.
Brenda S. Shuman, then 47, who resided at 382 N. Second St., Pottsville, was charged with two felony counts of forgery; seven felony counts each of theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property; two felony counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds; and five felony counts of access device fraud.
Patrolman Jeffrey Bowers charged Shuman with the thefts totaling $50,067 that occurred between August of 2008 and November of last year while was treasurer and billing office manager of the company and EMS organization.
Men charged in bank robberies
In September, three men were charged with three bank robberies in the Tremont and Tower City area.
Juan R. Cooke II, 32, of 504 Graham St., Harrisburg, and Darrell D. Dixon, 28, of 424 Harris St., Harrisburg, were charged with robbing Miners Bank at 29 E. Main St. in Tremont on Aug. 23.
Kevin E. Smith, 28, of 628 Curtain St., Harrisburg, is charged with robbing Miners Bank in Tremont on June 6 and also Halifax Bank at 920 E. Wiconisco Ave. in Tower City on June 29.