BRISTOL TWP., Pa. - The Falls Township convict charged with tattooing a teen for sex could spend the next 1,000 or more years in prison after being slammed this morning with another 195 counts of rape and related sexual assault charges.
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said he reached 1,000 years in counting the maximum sentence accused pedophile Walter Meyerle would get if convicted on all of the 230 counts of sexual assaults on a total of 14 juveniles, both boys and girls between the ages of 4 to 17, and two adults over the last 10 years.
“That is our goal,” Heckler said about the sentence he wants to get for Meyerle, who is married with an undisclosed number of children.
Meyerle, 34, of Penn Valley Road, is newly charged with multiple counts of felony rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a child, aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and criminal use of a communications facility.
Additional charges include obscene and other sexual materials and performance, corruption of minors, indecent assault, simple assault and terroristic threats, according to the criminal complaint.
The accused was shackled and wore a yellow jumpsuit as he walked into the court to hear the charges against him. His wife was there also, but refused comment.
Last March District Justice Frank Peranteau Sr. slapped a $1 million bail after the disabled tattoo artist was arrested and charged with 35 counts of sexual deviancy in the case of a 14-year-old girl who agreed to have sex with him in exchange for a tattoo below her pantie line.
The girl and her mother lived with Meyerle about seven years ago and moved out. Three years ago, the girl contacted Meyerle on MySpace and in May 2009 gave him her cell phone number.
Knowing this, he allegedly asked the the girl to send him nude pictures of herself over the phone. The two allegedly had phone sex, according to the initial criminal complaint.
The alleged assaults ended in March when her aunt called police, prosecutors said,
Heckler gave the information about the arrest to the media and gave phone numbers for other possible victims of the defendant to come forward.
After seeing the media reports, 15 additional alleged victims contacted police, who interviewed each of them and told similar stories, said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Schorn.
“There are four victims under the age of 10, and two preschoolers. The defendant groomed and forcibly raped the older children,” Schorn said, during a press conference at the Bristol Township Municipal Building.
“This is the largest case I’ve ever seen against one individual.”
Schorn said the defendant typically ingratiated himself to the family, who were under stress for one reason or another, and then use manipulation techniques and chose his victims wisely.
For instance, Meyerle took in one family into his Bristol Borough house who were burned out of their home, and, over time, preyed upon the children, often right under the family’s noses, because they trusted him, prosecutors said.
He threatened the child by saying if they didn’t do what he wanted, the family would be on the street, according to Schorn.
“One of the (alleged) victims said he had the coolest things, like a lizard and a monster truck,” Schorn said.
“He adapted methods to accomplish his goals with each victim.”
The assaults allegedly happened in his and others’ homes and other places in Lower Bucks County, the prosecutor said.
Many times his wife may have been in the house as the alleged assaults happened. Schorn declined to say if the wife was involved or if his children were assaulted: “The investigation is ongoing.”
Meyerle’s prior crimes include phone lewdness, domestic assault and drunken driving, according to police.
The contact he allegedly had with his victims ranged from
rape, digital penetration and oral and phone sex, to mention a few.
“It’s unimaginable. He preyed upon children, teens and adults,” Schorn said.
Peranteau set Meyerle’s bail at $5 million on the latest charges: “It is highly unlikely you will be released on bail. You are a threat to women and the community.”
Peranteau also ordered the defendant or his family members not to have contact with any of the victims.
Heckler said the charges are the result of good police work and cooperation between the Bensalem and Bristol Township and Bristol Borough police and detectives from his office.
One of Meyerle’s neighbors, who doesn’t want her name used, said “Wow,” when she heard the news of the additional charges.
“That’s just disgusting. There’s not much to say. When people say it could be your neighbor and it turns out to be true, wow. Now I know why I was so protective of my children.”
Meyerle was remanded back to the Bucks County Correctional Facility to await a preliminary hearing.
The DA said if there are any others who believe they are victims of the defendant to call Bristol Township Detective Greg Beidler at 267-812-3024 or Bensalem Detective Chris McMullin at 215-633-3726.
