31°
Malquan Craig, of Lancaster, is facing charges of indecent assault of a mentally disabled victim, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, and invasion of privacy in connection with the incidents involving the handicapped 70-year-old woman, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said.
The alleged assaults happened in 2020 and 2021 in Norristown, Lansdale, and West Norriton.
However, Craig is no stranger to the law, having been charged in May with exposing himself in front of and taking lewd pictures of a 3-year-old girl in Lancaster the year before, Lancaster Online reports.
Montgomery County detectives began investigating Craig that same month after Lancaster police investigators reported finding a video of him sexually assaulting the victim, who was receiving 24-hour care from H.A.P., Inc., a facility that cares for people with intellectual development disabilities, they said.
Craig and his girlfriend, who worked as a certified nursing assistant at the care center, would order takeout food, then go pick up the food with the woman in the car, authorities said.
That’s when Craig would sexually assault the victim by fondling her bare breasts, touching her vagina, and exposing her butt while his girlfriend was inside the restaurant picking up the food, investigators said. He allegedly recorded all of the encounters on his cellphone.
“As prosecutors, we must stand up for victims who can’t protect themselves from the depraved acts of people like this defendant,” DA Steele said.
Craig was arraigned on Tuesday, July 12, before a Magisterial District judge who set bail at $150,000 cash, authorities said. His bail was later increased by a Court of Common Pleas judge to $500,000.
Craig was already being held in a Lancaster County prison on separate charges. His preliminary hearing is set for Monday, Sept. 12.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hampden-Silver Spring and receive free news updates.
