Walter Meyerle, the man accused of trading a tattoo for sex with a 15-year-old girl, now faces sex crimes against 13 more children, some as young as 4 years old, according to the Bucks County District Attorney.
“My only hope is that this guy gets five minutes with (Navy) Seal Team Six,” Fred Harran, Bensalem's public safety director, told the Bucks County Courier Times. “It doesn't get much lower than this guy. He shouldn't be breathing.”
In March, Meyerle, a tattoo artist, was arrested for allegedly having sex with the teen girl, multiple times, sometimes while his wife was downstairs, and promising the girl a tattoo in her pelvic area in exchange.
After his arraignment in March on charges of felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and related charges, Meyerle told NBC Philadelphia, "We'll see who's guilty. . .There are a lot of serious charges and it's pretty serious but there's nothing to back it up," Meyerle said.
Now Meyerle faces 195 additional criminal counts, according to DA David Heckler. The charges include statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors, Heckler says.
Investigators suspected at the time of Meyerle's arrest that there may be other young victims. They asked parents and kids to please come forward.
"A number of other victims came forward, some who had never made any report and others who made initial reports but were reluctant to proceed with the matter," Heckler told PhillyBurbs.com.
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Investigators described Meyerle as a master manipulator who victimized the children of his friends and girlfriends, children who were vulnerable because their parents were drinking and taking drugs. Authorities say he sometimes lured younger victims with toys and gifts. In one case, prosecutors said, Meyerle molested the children of a family that moved in with him after their house burnt down.
He sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl 10 times and made her watch pornographic movies, and also molested another girl, who was 4 or 5 years old, 50 or 60 times, according to court documents.
Investigators also allege he told a 15-year-old girl she'd have a surprise in nine months after they had unprotected sex, and the girl ended up getting an abortion, according to court records.
“This is one of the largest child abuse cases I've seen by one individual,” said Jennifer Schorn, chief of the major crimes division for the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
Meyerle is being held on $5 million bail.
