John Jefferson
Background: News footage of the Pittsburgh, Penn. home of Rochelle Stewart (KDKA). Inset: Rochelle Stewart (Allegheny County Jail).
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested after allegedly inviting two adolescent boys into her home, getting them drunk, and attempting to sexually assault them.
According to Pittsburgh police, two boys, ages 12 and 13, offered to shovel snow in front of the home of Rochelle Stewart, 64, on Jan. 8. The criminal complaint obtained by KDKA, a local CBS affiliate, says that Stewart agreed to pay the boys $5 to shovel her walkway. While they completed the job, Stewart invited the boys inside, where she allegedly offered them hot chocolate and a variety of alcoholic beverages.
Once they started drinking, police say, Stewart made an inappropriate move.
Police were on the scene after receiving a call about a burglary in progress in the area at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 8. When they arrived in the neighborhood, officers found the two boys, both of whom were apparently drunk. Police stated in their complaint that the boys “were speaking in a nonsensical way exclaiming that a lady had just got them drunk and touched them.”
When asked separately about what happened, the boys had the same story — while they worked on the snow outside Stewart’s home, the woman invited them in for hot chocolate. Then she allegedly offered them alcohol, both wine and vodka, which they both drank. At some point during the visit, after consuming the alcohol, one of the boys told police that Stewart put her leg over his leg before trying to touch him inappropriately.
That was when the boys decided to leave, but they returned to the home later to retrieve one of their coats, which the boy left by accident. Their second visit was when Stewart called police to report a burglary in progress.
Police stated that Stewart denied the original visit, but officers found the boy’s coat inside her home as well as a half-empty bottle of vodka. One of the boys also took a video of the alleged inappropriate encounter, in which Stewart is reportedly seen rubbing the victim’s arm and shoulder.
Stewart was arrested and taken to Allegheny County Jail after being charged with six misdemeanors — one count of indecent assault, one count of making a false police report, and two counts each of giving minors alcohol and corruption of minors. Court records stated that she made 10% of her $1,000 bail and was released from custody on Thursday.
Her next court date is a preliminary hearing on Jan. 22.
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