CHICORA — A West Sunbury man accused of raping a 9-year-old girl appeared for his preliminary hearing Tuesday, April 4, and saw felony charges against him held for court.

Kevin Isovitsch, 51, is one of five men of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith charged in October 2022 by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General with abusing other members of the congregation.

Isovitsch was charged with felonies rape and aggravated indecent assault and misdemeanors indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.

Criminal charges also were filed against Marc Brown, of Allegheny County; Raymond Shultz, of Beaver County; and Abimael Valentin-Matos and Norman Aviles, both of Lancaster County.

Charges for all five stem from a state grand jury investigation which determined there was probable cause that the men sexually abused and exploited minors with whom they had close contact, in some cases members of their families.

District Judge Louis Stoughton heard testimony from one witness Tuesday: the alleged victim, who now is 26 years old. She was questioned by Alicia Werner, deputy attorney general.

The woman testified to being around age 9 during the alleged assault at Isovitsch’s home on Hooker Road in West Sunbury.

She recalled entering a bedroom in the home to jump on the bed when Isovitsch followed her and shut the door.

“It was evening; it was dark out,” she said. “Us kids and the Isovitsch kids were close in age. It was not uncommon to be at their house.”

She further testified that she slid off a bed and moved against a wall. Isovitsch then removed his and her underwear and touched her inappropriately with his private parts, the woman said.

The woman doesn’t recall if other children were in the house at the time of the assault.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Michael Zunder asked the woman if she told people she was unsure if the event occurred.

The woman said she would tell people she was uncertain about the event because of how they reacted.

“Nobody believed me,” she said.

The woman elaborated that three Jehovah’s Witnesses elders did not believe her when she told them what allegedly happened.

During closing arguments, Zunder asked that all charges be dismissed.

“She herself testified she’s not sure it really happened,” he said.

Stoughton said he would hold all charges over to the Butler County Common Pleas Court based on the proceedings.