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A Loyalsock Township volunteer fire company member has been arrested on charges of soliciting sex from a minor inside the firehouse on Northway Road, state police alleged in court papers.
Joseph Leo Foster, 47, of 156 Mulberry St., was charged by Trooper Josiah Reiner with statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, corrupting the morals of a minor and illegal use of a communication device.
It is alleged by Reiner that Foster solicited “the victim multiple times for sex,” it was stated in a criminal complaint.
Foster made inappropriate statements that were sexual in nature to the teen in the firehouse at 715 Northway Road and at least at one other location, Reiner alleged.
The investigator also alleged that during a Halloween event, Foster showed the minor an inappropriate video on his phone that was sexual in nature.
Police began an investigation after being alerted to the allegations on Friday after Foster allegedly made the latest inappropriate remarks to the victim at the station.
Foster was arrested Saturday afternoon at his home and arraigned before District Judge William Solomon. During his arraignment, Foster told the judge he was employed by the fire company. He was committed to the Lycoming County Prison, but has since been released on $75,000 bail.
Loyalsock Township Fire Chief Shawn Bastian said Tuesday afternoon that Foster “has been suspended from the company pending the completion of the investigation,” and that the fire company is “cooperating with authorities.”