The defendant met the victim through the model train community
HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against a Luzerne County man for sexual assault of a child with whom he exchanged thousands of Facebook messages — many of them being lewd and sexual in nature and soliciting sexual acts with the child.
William James Christian Jr., a board member for the Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum, was arrested Tuesday and charged with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor, and other offenses.
Christian, 30, of Dupont, was arraigned Tuesday when bail was set at $125,000. As part of bail conditions, Christian is to have no internet access, no unsupervised contact with minors, and no involvement with the Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum club.
“This defendant used a common interest — enthusiasm for trains — to groom and prey on a young person,” Attorney General Sunday said. “The defendant is charged with soliciting sexual messages from the victim, and assaulting them, over a period of many months. I am thankful for the collaboration between my office and law enforcement and community partners who helped stop this predatory behavior.”
Between 2023 and 2024, Christian communicated constantly with the 15-year-old over Facebook messenger. Messages ranged from innocent communication regarding their shared interest in model trains, to sexual comments and sexual imagery.
The physical assaults happened mostly on the way to and from model train events.
“This investigation again underscores the important and dynamic collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies in our vigilant pursuit in prosecuting those who prey on our most vulnerable and in holding them accountable in securing justice,” Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said. “We thank Attorney General Sunday for all of his office’s efforts and cooperation in making this arrest and protecting the people of Luzerne County.”
Christian’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 13.
This case is being prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Angela Sperrazza and Deputy Attorney General Mary Phillips of the Child Predator Section. Criminal charges, and any discussion thereof, are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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