HICKORY TWP., Pa. (EYT) — A former Tionesta woman was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly filming and taking part in the sexual abuse of minors at a Hickory Township residence nearly 30 years ago.
Court documents indicate 64-year-old Barbara J. Wolfe, of Clark, Pa. (formerly of the Tionesta area), was arraigned in front of Judge Daniel L. Miller at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21, on the following charges:
– Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse Victim Less Than 16 Years Old, Felony 1
– Rape Mentally Ill Or Deficient Victim, Felony 1
– Aggravated Indecent Assault-Over 18/Under 14, Felony 2
– Photograph/Film/Depict On Computer Sex Act-Child, Felony 2
– Indecent Assault-Over 18/Under 14, Misdemeanor 1
Unable to post $150,000.00 monetary bail, she was lodged in the Warren County Jail.
The charges stem from an investigation initiated in May of 2021.
According to a criminal complaint, on May 17, 2021, an investigation was referred to the Mercer-based State Police by the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office and the Jefferson Township Police Department.
Chief Jeffery Lockard, of the Jefferson Township Police, provided Mercer-based State Police with a hand-written note and a DVD that an unknown male had turned in to the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office on May 13, 2021.
The letter reportedly stated that the woman in the video on the enclosed DVD was Barbara Wolfe. It went on to state the video showed Wolfe and her husband, George Wolfe, molesting a known juvenile victim at their former residence in the Tionesta area, in Forest County, according to the complaint.
The letter also provided a current address for Wolfe in Clark, Pa.
The complaint notes the author of the letter also stated: “I’m going to die.”
Chief Lockard indicated he had knowledge of Wolfe, who was a Township employee at the time, and noted that she and her husband had been involved in an ongoing domestic dispute, and the couple no longer resided together, according to the complaint.
After receiving the letter and DVD, Chief Lockard contacted the Hermitage Police Department and asked them to check on George Wolfe’s welfare. Hermitage Police then found him deceased at his residence.
His death remains under investigation by the Hermitage Police Department.
According to the complaint, a review of the video footage on the DVD found it depicted George and Barbara Wolfe with at least two juvenile victims.
The complaint states that Barbara Wolfe engaged in sexual intercourse and indecent contact with a juvenile victim. In addition, both Barbara Wolfe and George Wolfe engaged in the filming of multiple prohibited sexual acts and committed prohibited sexual acts with a juvenile, knowing the acts were being filmed.
Police were reportedly able to obtain still images of the victim’s face and a still image of Barbara Wolfe with one of the victims from the footage.
Barbara Wolfe was then interviewed on June 3, 2021, and was shown the still images obtained from the video footage.
According to the complaint, Wolfe initially denied knowing who the children in the footage were, but she did identify herself in the still image.
She reportedly told police she had “blacked out” most of her past with George Wolfe, stating they had been together for approximately 34 years at the time of his death. She reported that during the suspected timeframe the videos had been taken, they had resided in a mobile home located just outside of Tionesta, in Forest County, the complaint indicates.
A known witness was interviewed on June 6, 2021, and was provided with still images from the video footage. The witness identified one of the victims and reported the victim had visited George and Barbara Wolfe at their former residence outside Tionesta, the complaint notes.
The witness told police George and Barbara Wolfe had convinced the victim to stay with them for several days, and afterward, the victim would not stop crying. The witness reported having suspicions that “something might have happened” to the victim while the victim was with the Wolfes, according to the complaint.
Investigators also made contact with Marienville-based State Police regarding the investigation and were able to verify that the former Wolfe residence near Tionesta was where the video footage took place, the complaint states.
Court documents indicate the crimes reportedly occurred in 1994.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 3, with Judge Miller presiding.
EDITOR’S NOTE 1: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crimes.
EDITOR’S NOTE 2: Several details were removed from this article to help protect the identity of the victims.
