51-year-old Warren Earl Yerger of Douglasville, Pennsylvania is accused of sexually assaulting three girls and one boy who were in his care from 1989 to 2012. The abuse took place in Chester County, Berks County, McKean County, and Montgomery County, and allegedly included hundreds of incidents.
Yerger's wife, 34-year-old Leslie Yerger, and one time girlfriend, 46-year-old Deborah Keeley of Birdsboro, are also facing child sex abuse charges.
According to the allegations, the children, as young as 3 years old, were raped, forced to perform sex acts on adults and each other, as well as forced participation when the suspects were having sex. In addition, authorities say naked pictures were taken of the children and distributed.
The victims were not just sexually abused. According to the Prosecutor's Office, the children were also subjected to punching and kicking.
The Prosecutor's Office also claims that Warren Yerger would sometimes tell people he was saying nightly prayers with two of the victims. The sexual assaults would then occur in the children's locked bedrooms. Yerger allegedly told one victim that he "would beat the evil out of him [the victim]."
Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan stated, "These defendants essentially tortured children in their care for years. They degraded these victims in every way possible."
Warren Earl Yerger, Leslie Yerger, and Deborah Keeley are charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, conspiracy, and related charges. Warren Yerger faces over 500 counts of criminal conduct.
Warren Yerger remains behind bars on $1,000,000 bail. Leslie Yerger and Deborah Keeley are both jailed on $500,000 bail.