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Eric Dorwart of Manheim was matched through DNA evidence to the sexual assault of two children under the age of 13, PSP on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
The young boy and girl had been playing near their home on West Newport Road on April 4th, 1997, when the man in light blue work van with a ladder of the back approached them and sexually assaulted them, the police detailed in charging documents.
The man left semen on the children and at the scene that investigators have been trying to match for years.
Details lead police to Dorwart and a disposable Rutter's coffee cup lid he had tossed out was collected by authorities. In 2022, it was submitted to a lab "for testing in attempts to generate a genealogical profile to assist in identifying a suspect," the police said.
On Tuesday, Aug. 15., Dorwart was taken into custody without incident and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Stuart Mylin, police say and court records confirm.
He was released from Lancaster County Prison after posting $25,000 bail, according to court records.
Dorwart has no prior criminal record in the state.
His preliminary hearing has been set before Magisterial District Judge Raymond Sheller on Aug. 29.
Anyone with information connected to this case can call the state police’s Lancaster barracks at 717-299-7650.
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