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Local Ice Cream Shop Owner Charged With Sexually Assaulting Young Sisters

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – David Higginbotham, 61, was usually seen scooping ice cream at the Handel's Homemade Cream and Yogurt Shop at McCandless Crossing.

But now police say it's what he was dishing out in his Baden home that caught their attention.

Higginbotham was arrested last week and charged with statutory sexual assault, indecent exposure, involuntary deviated sexual intercourse and corruption of a minor.

"He would have the victim's family over for events and then he would have a chance to get the victims away from the adults at the event and sexually assault these two young girls," said Northern Regional Police Chief Robert Amann.

The two young girls were family friends.

Police say the assaults happened over a five-year period and began when the girls were 7 and 8 years old. They have known the accused for years.

"His daughter-in-law was the nanny for these two young girls and were very young, and through that relationship as nanny, she brought them over to her in-law's house," said Amann.

The older victim wrote her parents a note, telling them the whole story of the ongoing assaults, including the attacks on her younger sister which led to Higginbothams' arrest at his popular ice cream shop, which is why police want to make sure no one else has a story to tell about Higginbotham.

"Currently we're looking to see if there are other victims out here that this man preyed on with other families that may have associated with him or some of his employees at his place of business," Amann said.

Police say Higginbotham could have come in contact with many children and ask anyone with information to contact them.

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