I've copied and pasted this entire newspaper article from yesterday in full as just using the link hits a paywall...
BERKS JUDGE LOWERS BAIL FOR FORMER BERKS MAN ACCUSED OF MOLESTING BOYS IN '90s.
Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.
Thu, December 8, 2022 at 4:59 AM·4 min read
Dec. 7—A Berks County judge on Wednesday halved the $1.5 million bail amount that had been set for a Georgia man while he awaits recently filed charges that he sexually assaulted two boys in the 1990s while living in the Hamburg area.
Jesse J. Hill, 52, remained in the county jail in lieu of $750,000 cash bail to await a preliminary hearing following Wednesday's bail hearing before Judge Patrick T. Barrett. The defendant followed the hearing from a cellblock in the basement of the courthouse via closed-circuit video.
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office alleges that Hill leveraged his family's trusted name within their Jehovah's Witnesses religious community to prey on boys as young as 9 during the 1990s, plying his victims with trips to the mall and R-rated movies, alcohol, marijuana and candy, according to the charges.
Hill's lawyer, Jay Nigrini, petitioned the court for bail modification, arguing that Hill's substantial local ties — he has resided in Berks nearly all of his life — puts him at extremely low risk of fleeing prosecution. He asked that bail be set at $125,000, which is the amount originally set by a district judge at Hlll's arraignment on child rape and indecent assault charges.
The main purpose of bail, he said, is to ensure the defendant will show up for court.
During the hearing, Nigrini said Hill plans to relocate to Berks while awaiting trial and has given power of attorney to a family member to execute the sale of his Georgia home.
He added that Hill had no criminal record before his arrest in late October.
Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel J. Dye, in the commonwealth's response to the defendant's motion and in oral arguments Wednesday, said authorities are concerned that Hill has great incentive to flee, given the seriousness of the charges. If convicted, Hill would likely be sentenced to decades in prison.
Hill's family has considerable resources, Dye said, owning a multimillion-dollar machine manufacturing company headquartered in Hamburg.
Dye also emphasized the need to protect the community.
Since it began an investigation of Hill in 2019 as part of a larger investigation of alleged widespread sexual abuse of children within Jehovah's Witnesses congregations in Pennsylvania, the attorney general's office has identified two children with whom Hill had inappropriate contact, Dye said.
At the time of his arrest in Georgia on a warrant from Pennsylvania, Hill was in possession of a season pass to Wild Adventures, a theme park in Valdosta, Ga., Dye said.
"The defendant's averment that he will return to Berks County and await trial is no comfort," Dye wrote in his response to the bail-modification motion and referred to in oral arguments. "It was in Berks County where he committed his crimes and, in spite of full knowledge of his crimes, no one did anything to stop him."
The motion refers to thousands of documents obtained by the attorney general's office from the Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters in New York as part of the investigation.
Documents show that in 1998 Hill was referred to a committee of two elders. Based on Hill's admission to sexually molesting nine boys, he was labeled in internal documents as a "known child molester," Dye said. Despite this, records show the elders of the Kutztown congregation unanimously voted to reinstate Hill in 2011.
Nigrini objected to testimony on the contents of internal documents, saying their admissibility in a criminal trial has yet to to be determined. He said most of the elders whose names appear on those documents are deceased.
Barrett overruled the objection but directed Dye to go no further with the content of the case.
The judge said both sides have compelling arguments. On one hand, he said, protection of the community is paramount given the gravity of the alleged offenses. On the other, $1.5 million is an unreasonable amount for bail, he said.
Barrett added that he doesn't believe that Hill moved to Georgia, where he bought a house under his own name, with the intent of hiding from authorities.
While saying his decision was not informed "by the wisdom of Solomon," Barrett said he would reduce the bail to $750,000.
He suggested the best remedy would be a speedy trial and urged Nigrini to prepare for that to happen.
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