A Franklin man has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault after he allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with his ex-wife earlier this month.
A criminal complaint filed through district judge Matthew Kirtland’s office says Franklin patrolmen Josh Wheeling and Bradley Barnhill arrived at a residence in the 500 block of Buffalo Street on Dec. 22 after receiving a report that a possible sexual assault occurred there.
Wheeling found the woman in a back bedroom, the complaint said.
The woman said she lives at the residence with her current boyfriend and that her former husband, 61-year-old Steven L. Carpenter, had sexually assaulted her, the complaint said.
She said Carpenter had been staying with her and her new boyfriend for about a month, the complaint said.
The woman said that on the night of Dec. 7 she had been sleeping in her living room on an inflatable mattress when Carpenter lay down beside her and began inappropriately touching her, the complaint said.
She said the same act occurred two more times on the nights of Dec. 12 and 13, both times while she slept in the same location, the complaint said.
The woman said she had reported the assault to her therapist on Dec. 14 while at a local appointment and was advised by her therapist that she needed to contact police, the complaint said.
She said she wanted the issue to go away so she waited several days before speaking with her child on Dec. 22 who advised her that she needed to follow the instructions of her therapist and report the incident, the complaint said.
Carpenter has been charged with three second-degree felony counts of aggravated indecent assault without consent.
He was arraigned before Kirtland and placed in the Venango County jail on $75,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for Jan. 4 in Central Court.
