ADAMS COUNTY — An East Berlin man has been accused of child rape and his wife with child endangerment and witness intimidation after an investigation by Reading Township Police.
Larry J. Reese Jr., 43, is charged with felony counts of rape of a child, statutory rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child under 16, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child under 13, aggravated indecent assault of a child under 16, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, corruption of minors, and unlawful contact with a minor, according to the criminal complaint. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age, police say.
Jessica Reese, 34, is charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children and a misdemeanor count of intimidates or intends to intimidate a person to refrain from reporting, police say.
According to police, the investigation began on May 6, when the victim, a student at Bermudian Springs Middle School, refused to leave. The student accused Larry Reese Jr. of forcing her to perform oral sex on him, and later engaged in sexual intercourse with her, police say.
Police took the victim to a hospital for an examination and evidence collection. The child was then interviewed by the Adams County Children’s Advocacy Center on May 7, police say.
During the interview, the victim accused Larry Reese Jr. of “multiple other occasions” of rape and inappropriate touching, police say.
The victim told her interviewer that she told Jessica Reese that Larry Reese Jr. was touching her, but Jessica Reese “did nothing,” according to the complaint.
Jessica Reese also caught Larry Reese Jr. “with his hands under the covers” in the victim’s bedroom and yelled at him, the victim reported.
About five years earlier, the victim told interviewers, she told Jessica Reese “something had occurred” with Larry Reese Jr., and Jessica Reese took her to Hanover Hospital for an exam. When a nurse told Jessica Reese that police would be called, Jessica Reese allegedly said they would return the next day “but never followed up,” police said in the complaint.
Results from lab testing of the evidence collected from the victim showed sperm and saliva were present, according to the complaint. DNA analysis of the samples matched that of Larry Reese Jr., police say.
