EMLENTON BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — A 47-year-old Emlenton man is facing felony charges after he was caught on video masturbating in front of a 15-year-old girl.

Court documents indicate that the Emlenton Police Department filed criminal charges against 47-year-old James Preston Hager, of Emlenton.

According to a criminal complaint, around 8:52 a.m. on January 16, Officer O’Neil received a report from Venango County CYS indicating that on Sunday, January 14, James Hager allegedly masturbated in front of a 15-year-old juvenile, and the juvenile videotaped the incident. Upon the mother of the juvenile discovering the alleged incident, she and the juvenile moved out of the residence.

Around 3:44 p.m., Officer O’Neil interviewed the juvenile, who was accompanied by her mother, at the Emlenton Borough Police Department. A CYS worker was also present for the interview.

The juvenile stated that on Sunday, January 14, just before 6:54 p.m., she was in James Hager’s bedroom “watching TV and playing with puppies.” She stated that she was also using Snapchat on her phone. She said Hager was on the bed “half sitting, half laying down.” After a few minutes, she noticed Hager had exposed his genitals and was masturbating. The victim stated that she wanted to catch him, so she started recording him on her cell phone. She got out of the bed while recording, and commented to him about being disgusting. She then left the room and began packing her belongings.

Officer O’Neil viewed and obtained a copy of the video that showed Hager with his hand on his exposed genitals.

Officer O’Neil asked the victim if this had happened in the past, and she stated it had happened numerous times since the beginning of October when her mother was at work. She stated that Hager was “never under a blanket or any kind of covers” and that he would just lay or sit on the bed and begin masturbating. She said she wanted to catch Hager doing this, so she began recording and then got up off the bed, according to the criminal complaint.

When asked if Hager said anything to her about the video, she stated that he asked “did you Facebook Live that?” and “please don’t show anybody, you’re going to ruin me.” The victim stated this occurred a total of 38 times, based on her mother’s work schedule, which Officer O’Neil was able to obtain.

A search warrant was served on the victim’s cell phone based on probable cause. As a result of the search, evidence was obtained that showed Hager allegedly offered marijuana to the victim numerous times. Hager also allegedly sent inappropriate sexual messages to the victim, according to the criminal complaint.

On March 21, Officer O’Neil interviewed the victim about information obtained from the search warrant on the cell phone and asked her what “puff, puff,” “wanna cloud,” and “got one ready” meant to her. She stated that Hager wanted to smoke marijuana with her. When asked how often that occurred, she stated, “most of the times that he sent her a message about it.”

Hager was arraigned at 11:42 a.m. on Monday, March 26, in Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey’s office.

He faces the following charges:

– Corruption Of Minors — Defendant Age 18 or Above, Felony 3
– Criminal Use Of Communication Facility, Felony 3
– Corruption of Minors, Misdemeanor 1
– Indecent Exposure, Misdemeanor 1 (38 counts)
– Open Lewdness, Misdemeanor 3 (38 counts)
– Unlawful Contact with Minor, Sexual Offenses, Felony 3
– Unlawful Contact with Minor, Open Lewdness, Felony 3

Unable to post $50,000.00 cash bail, Hager was lodged in the Venango County Jail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 4, with Judge Lowrey presiding.