Mar 18, 2013 2 min read

Two men charged with sex crimes in unrelated cases were sentenced recently in Washington County Court.

Randy Lee Bell Jr., 20, of 727 North Main St., Houston, pleaded guilty before Judge Katherine Emery on two counts of indecent assault. She sentenced him to six to 23 months and gave him credit for time he has served.

He also pleaded guilty to a corruption of minors charge, for which he was placed on probation for five years.

Emery ordered Bell to have no contact with the victims. Chartiers Township police in April accused Bell of picking up a 9-year-old girl from the living room of his home and carrying her to a laundry room, where he exposed himself and forced her to touch him.

Police also said Bell climbed atop a 6-year-old girl and touched her inappropriately.

Francis Merritt Taylor, 43, who gave addresses in both Charleroi and Monongahela, pleaded guilty to corrupting a minor. He was placed on probation for two years. He was ordered to pay restitution and fulfill Megan’s Law requirements regarding the reporting of his address.

Taylor’s offenses took place in Monongahela at a home on Vine Street, according to the criminal complaint.

Judge John DiSalle ordered that he was to have no contact with the victim or her family. The judge said Taylor could attend his daughter’s graduation in North Carolina in May if the Washington County Adult Probation Office approves.

Charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault were dropped.