2 men indicted in Butler County on rape charges involving children

A Butler County grand jury has indicted two men on rape charges in two separate cases that allegedly involved children under the age of 13.

Timothy Agee, 26 of Trenton, was indicted by the grand jury on one count each of rape and gross sexual imposition for an incident that allegedly occurred in Trenton on May 28, 2016.

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Estaban Bernal, 74, whose last known address is Peru, faces one count of rape and four counts of gross sexual imposition for an incident that allegedly occurred sometime between Jan. 1, 2016 and October 2017 in West Chester Twp.

Both cases were brought to the grand jury on direct indictments, which means the men were not arrested and didn’t go through the lower courts.

Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Heile said she cannot provide any more information about the cases but said she believes both were single-victim cases. She said the rape charges are first-degree felonies with a possible prison sentences of 10 years to life.

As of Friday, arrest warrants have been issued for both men, but they are not in custody yet.

As for the delayed indictment, she said that is not unusual.

“Sometimes it’s a delayed report, sometimes it just takes awhile for investigations,” she said. “Especially with child victim cases, we regularly have delayed reporting.”

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