Dec 3, 2018 2 min read

A Bobtown man was jailed on charges that he raped a 14-year-old autistic girl in the woods in October.

State police charged Shawn Michael Hoffman, 20, of 254 Duff Street, with rape, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors after the child reported the alleged abuse to police Oct. 20.

Police said the teen told them Hoffman had contacted her in August through the social media network Snapchat and had solicited sex from her multiple times. She repeatedly told him that she did not want to have sex, according to the criminal complaint.

“When Hoffman requested sex the last time, he threatened to harm her parents if she did not have sex with him,” police said in the complaint.

Police said the girl then agreed to meet Hoffman at the Bobtown post office Aug. 6, because she was afraid her parents would be harmed. He took her a short distance into the woods, where he allegedly raped her.

Police interviewed Hoffman at Greene County jail, as he already was being held there on unrelated charges. Police said Hoffman at first denied knowing the victim. He allegedly later told them that he did have sex with her because he thought she was 18 years old. He reportedly told police that he and the girl sent each other nude videos and pictures through Snapchat, but that he stopped communicating with her when she told him her age.

Hoffman was arraigned Saturday evening before District Judge Lee Watson and is being held without bail on the new charges. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Dec. 11, before Watson.