A 23-year-old Montrose man who was 14 when he allegedly sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy waived his preliminary hearing on Friday.
The charge of sexual assault against Donald Whitmire was held for court following his waiver, and a formal arraignment was set for Dec. 28. He is free on $10,000 bail.
The charge stems from a series of incidents about nine years ago when Mr. Whitmire is accused of forcing the boy, who was 6 or 7 years old at the time, to perform oral and manual sex on him.
Mr. Whitmire is also accused of performing those acts on the boy and attempting to have anal sex with the victim, who is now 18, according to a criminal complaint.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.
The victim disclosed the abuse during an interview at the Children's Advocacy Center earlier this year.
In an interview with police in July, Mr. Whitmire admitted to all of the victim's allegations, according to the complaint.
Though the offense occurred when Mr. Whitmire was a juvenile, the crime cannot be prosecuted in juvenile court because the court has no jurisdiction over anyone over the age of 21, said Lackawanna County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McCambridge.
"The case can't even start in juvenile court," she said, adding that it can still be prosecuted in county court.
That said, Mr. Whitmire's age at the time of the offenses will likely come into play at the time of sentencing if he is convicted or pleads guilty to the crime.
Ms. McCambridge said she expects Mr. Whitmire, who is being represented by the Lackawanna County public defenders office, to argue that his age should mitigate any sentence imposed on him.
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