Chester County Couple And Husband's Onetime Girlfriend Charged With Sexually Abusing Four Children
DOUGLASSVILLE, Pa. (CBS) – Three people have been arrested for the alleged sexual abuse of several children who were in their care for more than two decades.
Fifty-one-year-old Warren Earl Yerger, 34-year-old Leslie Yerger and 46-year-old Deborah Keeley of Birdsboro, Pa. were all arrested after an investigation by Pennsylvania State Police.
According to officials, Warren Yerger faces over 500 counts of criminal conduct. He, his wife Leslie, and one-time girlfriend Deborah Keeley are all accused of sexually assaulting three girls and one boy who were under his care between 1989 and 2012.
Officials also say the abuse began when the children were as young as three-years-old and took place over more than a decade in Chester, Berks, McKean, and Montgomery counties.
Warren Yerger apparently told people he was saying prayers with two of the children, then would lock the doors to their rooms and assault them. He also told one victim he "would beat the evil out of him [the victim]."
"Defendant Warren Yerger has been charged with every legally appropriate charge for sexually abusing these children. There is no charge that exists for it, but he ought to be charged with murdering the childhood of these victims," said Chester County district attorney Tom Hogan.
Hogan says the abuse included but was not limited to numerous sex acts, photographing the victims naked, physically abusing the children with punches and kicks, and forcing the children to engage in sex acts with each other.
Officials say Leslie Yerger and Deborah Keeley also participated in the abuse.
All three defendants are charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, conspiracy, and related crimes.
Warren Yerger's bail was set at $1 million and for the two women at $500,000, and all three were being held in Chester County Prison.
