Carnival Worker Charged With Molesting 9-Year-Old Girl
UNIONTOWN (KDKA) -- A homeless Uniontown man who had been working at Fayette County fairgrounds was arrested and charged with indecent assault.
Police say 50-year-old Richard Crossland molested a 9-year-old girl in the bedroom of her home while she slept.
He said the victim's 12-year-old sister witnessed the crime and told her mother who then told police.
"His words were he was fantasizing about a girl that he had met earlier in the night at the fair," Uniontown Police Lt. Thomas Kolencik said.
Police say the assault happened at the home of a woman with whom Crossland had become acquainted.
"He was staying at the homeless shelter for a while. I believe he got thrown out of there and he's been bouncing around and befriending people and using them for a place to stay and that was the case here," Lt. Kolencik said. "She was being nice and trying to help the guy out and this is what happened."
A spokesman for the carnival said Crossland, who had been working the main gate, was immediately fired.
"He did not work on the rides, he did not work at the games," Ed Powers of Powers Great American Midway said. "He was one of the gate attendants and as soon as we found out, they got rid of him and he's not coming back."
Only permanent employees are given extensive background checks – not temporary workers like Crossland.
"His history spans 36 pages in over three or four different states," Lt. Kolencik said. "They're all crimes of deceit – no previous sexual nature."
The crimes include burglary, forgery, theft and filing false reports with law enforcement.
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