Local Man Accused of Child Endangerment After Young Child Found Wandering Alone in Oil City Due in Court on Wednesday

| March 27, 2023

VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) – A hearing for an Oil City man charged with child endangerment after police say a young child was found wandering alone in the rain is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

According to court documents, a preliminary hearing for is scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, at 1:30 p.m. in Venango County Central Court on the following charge:

Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense, Felony 3

He is currently free on $7,500.00 monetary bail.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint that was released on March 6, Oil City Police were called to the area of East 6th Alley behind the 500 block of Hiland Avenue on March 3, 2023, around 5:48 p.m. The caller stated that he had a small child that was wandering around outside without shoes on.

Officers arrived on the scene five minutes later and spoke with the caller who stated that he saw the child walking around at the front of the residence on his camera. The child then made it to the back of the residence. The caller had then gotten the child out of the rain and waited for police to arrive, the complaint states.

Officers cleared the scene with the child en route to the police station five minutes after that, the complaint notes.

At 6:02 p.m., officers arrived at the police station with the child where they requested paramedics due to the child’s exposure to the weather, the complaint indicates.

According to the complaint, an employee of Children and Youth Services responded to the police station at 6:35 p.m. and was able to identify the child.

At 6:42 p.m., officers went back out to the 500 block of Hiland Avenue. When officers arrived, 18-year-old Zebe Birchard and a known male were outside of the residence “hollering for the child.” Birchard told officers they had been in the bathroom working, and the child had only been gone for five minutes. Officers informed him that the child was at the police station and “that they needed to come to the station,” the complaint states.

According to court records, Birchard was arraigned on March 3 at 8:15 p.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey.

He was lodged in the Venango County Jail on $7,500.00 monetary bail on March 3 and released on March 5 after a surety bond was posted by a professional bondsman.


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