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Former Assistant Fire Chief To Stand Trial For Statutory Sexual Assault

WESTMORELAND COUNTY (KDKA) -- A former volunteer assistant fire chief will stand trial on charges that he had sex with a teenage girl who tried to join the department.

Kenneth Steiner, surrounded by family and friends, said nothing as he left the courtroom. Neither did his defense attorney.

The preliminary hearing in Ligonier was to determine whether there's enough evidence to hold him for trial on charges he had inappropriate sexual contact with a girl who joined the junior division of the New Florence Fire Department when she was 15 years old.

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When she took the stand, she testified he would call her away from meetings about fire drills, take her to a section of the fire house where there were no surveillance cameras and kiss her.

But she says beginning on September 28th, 2013, he would invite her to his house via text message, and the two would engage in sex acts and intercourse.

"I got a message from him saying to meet him when everybody was asleep. He told me to go to the camper," she testified.

Then on the next day, September 29th, she said, "He wanted me to come over because his wife was gone."

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She said she had similar experiences on October 6th and October 13th.

"Did he ever tell you not to report it?" asked the prosecutor.

"He told me not to tell anybody or he would go to jail for it," she replied.

Then the defense attorney wondered about her memory of dates, asking, "How are you certain of the dates?"

"I remember because that's how I got pregnant," she replied. "I had a miscarriage because I was so stressed out."

The judge ordered him to stand trial on charges including statutory sexual assault.

Conditions of his bail pending trial include no contact with the alleged victim and no contact with the junior firefighter program.

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