Police: Connellsville man sexually assaulted 15 year old in woods
A 32-year-old man is behind bars for allegedly forcing a 15-year-old girl into the woods and sexually assaulting her after she became stranded in a rural area of Connellsville Township on Saturday night.
Gordon Charles Lambert of 1st Street in Connellsville is charged with kidnap, rape, unlawful restraint, corruption of minors, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and indecent assault of a person less than 16.
The Herald-Standard does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his case, the teen was driving with her guardian’s ex-boyfriend and his children in the Casparis area of Connellsville when the vehicle became stuck in the mud. She told police several people tried to help them, including the man who later allegedly assaulted her. Police found her in the woods after responding to a call of a girl lost in the wooded area. She gave police a description of the man, who they reportedly spotted leaving the woods near Gun Club Road a short time later.
The teen told police she waited for several hours, then became frustrated and started walking toward South Connellsville at about 7 p.m. She reportedly saw the man lying alongside the road. The teen said he jumped up and told her, “I don’t know how you woke me up. A sexy, young girl with confidence comes and gets my attention.”
She said he asked to walk with her and asked for information about her, including her age, school and hometown. He later allegedly pulled her into the woods, threw her to the ground, removed her clothing and sexually assaulted her. She said she screamed for help, and he covered her mouth. She told police she asked him to stop multiple times, saying, “Please don’t do this to me,” and tried to get away, according to court paperwork.
She told police she could smell alcohol on his breath. She eventually escaped him, running back to the road with Lambert chasing behind her, according to police.
She was later met by her male guardian and two other males. They reportedly saw the man and yelled for him to stop as he ran.
Lambert was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge Nathan A. Henning, who set bail at $150,000 in the case.