Local News

Man arrested for molesting child & taping sex acts; police looking for more victims

Police are looking into the possibility of more victims after the arrest of a Cumberland County man.

Steven R. Brungard, 63, of Enola, is facing a long list of charges after police say he paid a 10-year-old girl to engage in sexual acts with him and then video taped the encounters. He is charged with four counts of deviate sexual intercourse with a child less than 13, two counts of manufacturing child pornography, one count of promoting prostitution of a child, two counts of aggravated indecent assault on a child less than 13, two counts of indecent assault on a child under 13, two counts of possession of child pornography, invasion of privacy and corruption of minors.

“What you see is a lengthy period of grooming, and grooming that doesn’t just stop once the sexual acts begin,” said Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed. “This involved having the child into the house to do some chores, paying the child for chores, and then this defendant would purchase clothing that the child wanted. He would give her the outfits if she did these certain things for him. That progressed to paying her for sexual acts.”

Police began looking into Brungard on March 6 after receiving a tip from Brungard himself. Brungard sent a referral to Cumberland County Children and Youth Services and a local religious organization. In the tip he said he had watched a video on his home surveillance camera system and saw another child sexually abusing the young girl. But after interviewing the girl and executing a search warrant of his home along the first block of East Manor Avenue in East Pennsboro Township, police say they found video of him and the girl engaging in sexual acts. Police say they did not find  video of the victim and another child.

“Contact had either been cut off or curtailed between he and the victim. I think that based on what he was doing he sensed that could mean that he could be discovered. I think the referrals were an attempt to ultimately create a defense,” said Freed.

Brungard told police he paid the victim $25 to model specific outfits while he masturbated, $50 if she would wear a bra and underwear while he masturbated, $70 if she would model nude while he masturbated and $120 if she performed oral intercourse on him.

Brungard also video taped the child with a hidden camera while she used the bathroom without her knowledge, police said.

He was arraigned and the judge denied him bail. Brungard remains in Cumberland County Prison.

A  preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 11 a.m. on March 25.

Police are seeking assistance from the public in this investigation. Anyone who may have information about this incident or know of other children who may have had contact with Brungard is asked to contact police at 717-732-3633.

“It’s very clear to us at this point, at this stage in the investigation, this defendant is familiar with the use of online resources. We know that he used Craigslist, we know that he used Facebook, and we know he at least created certain videos of these offenses. That’s not based on what he told us, we’ve seen those. So the open questions are: were more made, are there more victims, were those videos disseminated?” said Freed.

VIEW & ADD COMMENTS

2 Comments to “Man arrested for molesting child & taping sex acts; police looking for more victims”

    Anonymous said:
    March 11, 2013 at 6:38 PM

    I’m happy to hear the judge denied bail. Pa needs better laws to protect children, and this is a start.

    Anonymous said:
    March 11, 2013 at 11:15 PM

    Sick Bastard….I hope he rots in prison and that he gets treated the same way while he's there! He ruined that childs life, and hopefully not anymore! My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family! Karma is always watching. He will pay, even though it will not heal that child's pain!

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