A Muncy man was spared a charge of unlawful contact with a minor, but ordered to stand trial on a charge of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, following a hearing before District Judge Gary Whiteman Monday morning.

Dwayne Allen Koons, 55, of Muncy, was charged with the offenses after a then-8-year-old female reported to her mother that Koons had patted, pinched and squished her backside on several occasions, despite her telling him to stop.

The unwanted touching extended to Koons tickling the alleged victim on her stomach and feet, she said.

The minor also stated that despite her insistence that she did not need help, Koons would often wash her hair as she took baths.

Koons described the touching as “playful,” when initially questioned by state Trooper Brian Siebert, the officer testified Monday.

Koons further stated that he would prepare baths for the girl, but added that he would leave before she would remove her clothing. He did admit to re-entering the bathroom to wash her hair, however.

Koons gave no indication that any of his actions were sexual in nature, Siebert testified.

During cross examination, defense attorney Matthew Diemer questioned the actions of the trooper prior to the filing of charges.

Asked if Siebert had investigated whether the alleged victim’s mother had coached or manipulated her accounts of abuse due to ongoing litigation between Koons and the mother, Siebert stated that he was familiar with the case, but had not extensively examined the documentation.

The decision to press charges was based on the “totality of the circumstances,” the officer testified, an assertion Diemer pushed back on, stressing that an eyewitnesses account should be included in that totality.

Siebert further conceded that no physical evidence exists in the case.

Testifying remotely, the alleged victim told the judge that she had told Koons to stop on several occasions, but that he continued his pattern of behavior anyway.

“I didn’t like it and it didn’t make me feel happy, ” she testified, adding that it made her want to stop going to visit her grandmother, who she said did nothing to quell Koons’ alleged behavior.

Additionally, she said that despite telling both her grandmother and Koons that she was capable of washing her hair without assistance, he insisted on washing it for her anyway.

She also objected to his tickling of her, which included her stomach, feet and armpits, she testified.

On cross examination, the alleged victim acknowledged that, though she never initiated the tickling, she would sometimes tickle him back, which would evolve into “tickle fights.”

She further testified that she was clothed on every occasion that Koons touched her rear end in any way, and that at times, she would “playfully” pat Koons on the butt.

Whiteman dismissed the count of unlawful contact with a minor after Diemer argued that the statute referred to “communication” with a minor, geared towards the use of electronic means to commit the crime, an argument First Assistant District Attorney Martin Wade concurred with.

Diemer urged Whiteman to dismiss the indecent assault charge based on the fact that no evidence was presented that the touching was for the purpose of sexual gratification.

“Everything was described as ‘playful,” Diemer argued, adding that patting, etc. needs to be taken in context.

“Otherwise we would have a whole bunch of people charged with indecent assault,” he said.

Diemer also stressed that none of the inappropriate touching was done in the chest, groin or other “private areas.”

Wade, however, countered that the alleged victim was bothered enough by the behavior that she reported it to her mother.

“I’m concerned by the defendant’s fascination with being in the bathroom with a nude child,” he said, again noting that she repeatedly told both Koons and her grandmother that she didn’t need help bathing.

“I can’t sit by and let that kind of conduct happen,” he told the judge.

Whiteman acknowledged that it is rare to hear testimony as to why defendants carry out inappropriate touching at the preliminary hearing.

Though he was bound to view evidence most favorable to the commonwealth at this stage, Whiteman said that it may not be enough going forward.

This is not the first time Koons has been accused of inappropriate contact with minors.

In September 2021, he was charged with unlawful contact with a minor, criminal solicitation to indecent assault, corrupting the morals of a minor and illegal use of a communication device for using a cellphone to send a sexual message to a juvenile in the city’s Newberry neighborhood in mid-June.

Koons ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of corruption of minors, and sentenced to five years probation.