Carlisle man accused of sex assault
Mar. 3—Sugarloaf Twp. police handcuffed a Cumberland County man accused of sexual relations with a minor and brought him back to Luzerne County to face the charges Tuesday morning.
Donald B. Copeland, 44, was taken into custody at his Carlisle home for felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors. The case was also investigated by a detective with the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office.
Magisterial District Judge Daniel O'Donnell, Butler Twp., set bail at $100,000 after Sugarloaf Twp. Police Chief Josh Winters requested secured bail due to the seriousness of the crimes against Copeland.
Unable to immediately post it, Copeland was taken to Luzerne County Correctional Facility, Wilkes-Barre. If he posts bail he is not to have any contact with the alleged victim or the victim's family, nor is he permitted to have any contact with a minor, including his own underage child, said O'Donnell.
Copeland only spoke in the courtroom to answer the judge's questions and ask his own, including if he was able to see his own son. He said nothing as he walked into the courtroom in handcuffs after the media asked him for comment. Wearing tan hospital scrubs, he told the judge he has worked at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill for the past 2 years and was never arrested when the judge began asking him customary questions used to determine bail. After it was clear Copeland was going to jail, he told the judge he is a caregiver for his son and father-in-law. However, O'Donnell told him other arrangements with his family would have to be made.
The investigation into Copeland began with a Feb. 2 call to Sugarloaf Twp. police, in which a 22 year old told them Copeland sexually assaulted him from the time he was 10 or 11 years old until he was 17, arrest papers state. He went on to detail specific occasions where he said Copeland performed oral sex on him in Sugarloaf Twp., Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre and locations outside of Luzerne County. The assaults ended when the boy began dating a girl, police wrote.
The alleged victim called Copeland after filing the allegations with police and officers listened to and recorded the conversation which involved the victim asking Copeland why he performed oral sex on him.
Copeland said he "never wanted to hurt you," and "I never wanted to do anything that was not good for you," arrest papers sate. Copeland said he believed it wasn't causing the youth any harm, according to the criminal complaint against him. Toward the end of the conversation, Copeland asked that he tell him if he was going to tell anyone else about it because it would impact a lot more people than just him.
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