PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on announced criminal charges against four Pennsylvania men -- one from Lancaster County -- accused of sexually assaulting and exploiting children.
In each case, the victims were minors and members of Jehovah's Witness congregations, Shapiro said at a press conference Thursday morning.
“These cases are disturbing, the allegations hard to imagine, and all share one common tie," Shapiro said. "The 19 victims and the four men who are being charged with sexually violating them are all members of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
"These children deserved to be protected and grow up in peace, not to be preyed upon. My office will not stop until these defendants are held accountable for their crimes against innocent children and until justice is achieved for these courageous survivors.”
The charges stem from the 49th Investigating Grand Jury and are charged by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Through the investigation, it was revealed that these men sexually abused and exploited 19 minors with whom they had close contact, in some cases their own children.
The defendants are being prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General for the following offenses:
- Jose Serrano, 69, of Lancaster County: accused of molesting six young girls in 2011. He confessed to committing many of these criminal offenses to the Grand Jury, and admitted to a life-long struggle with deviant impulses. He has been charged with Aggravated Indecent Assault, Indecent Assault, and Endangering the Welfare of Children.
- Jesse Hill, 52, formerly of Berks County, now a resident of the state of Georgia: accused of using his milling business to attract young boys from his Jehovah's Witness congregation, with promises of alcohol, marijuana, and pornography to his property for parties in the 1990s. Hill would later expose himself to the children, grope them and force them to perform oral sex. The investigation revealed at least 10 victims of Mr. Hill’s abuse. Hill has been charged with Rape, Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse, Indecent Assault, and Corruption of Minors.
- Robert Ostrander, 56, formerly of Cambria County, now a resident of New York state: accused of abusing at least two minors. He has been charged with Indecent Assault, Endangering Welfare of Children, and Corruption of Minors.
- Eric Eleam, 61, of Butler County: accused of sexually abusing a young girl and used sexual molestation as a form of discipline when she was a child. He has been charged with Rape, Involuntary Deviate Sexual intercourse, Aggravated Indecent Assault, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. When agents from the Office of Attorney General and police from Butler County attempted to take him into custody, he retreated into his bathroom and killed himself behind closed doors.
All of these charges have been filed in the corresponding counties of Lancaster, Berks, and Cambria.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has arrested over 500 child predators during Shapiro's tenure.
Anyone with information regarding child sexual abuse is encouraged to report information to the Office of Attorney General’s hotline at 888-538-8541. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Dan Dye.
