A Delaware County man is behind bars after he allegedly molested a 5-year-old girl he was babysitting.
Ronald MacNeal, 65, of East Lansdowne, is charged with the rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual assault and other related offenses.
Police say the investigation began on August 13 when a woman reported her 5-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted. The woman told police she left her daughter in MacNeal’s care at his home on the 400 block of Pembroke Avenue back on August 7. After she picked her daughter up the mother said she began to act unusual. When she asked her what was wrong, her daughter told her, “Ron put his fingers in my privates,” according to investigators.
After hearing from the mother, police immediately took the girl to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for evaluation. Jodi Kaplan, the director of the Delaware County Children’s Advocacy Center and a child forensic interviewer then spoke with the girl.
During the interview, the girl told police she was sleeping in MacNeal’s bed after eating popcorn and watching the movie “Frozen” back on August 7. She said she awoke to MacNeal sexually assaulting her.
The girl told police she kicked MacNeal and wanted him to die after the sexual assault. She also said MacNeal told her to, “shut up b----,” and threatened to punch her in the face if she told anyone about the assault.
Police collected evidence after the interview. MacNeal was then taken into custody and remanded to the Delaware County Prison after failing to post bail.
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If you have any information on the case or know anyone who may have been victimized by MacNeal, call Sgt. James Cadden of the East Lansdowne Police Department at 610-259-2308 or County Det. Mark D. Bucci of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) at 610-891-4700.
