Repeated Rapist Sentenced, Sesame Place Suit Tossed: Lower Bucks News

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Sesame Place got some good news and bad news this week.

The Middletown Township amusement park saw a discrimination suit dismissed by a grand jury. Meanwhile, a man who worked as a costumed character was charged with sexual assault.

These were some of the stories making news this past week in Lower Bucks County:

Man Faces Up To 40 Years For Repeatedly Raping Lower Bucks Girl

A Falls Township man faces up to 40 years in prison for repeatedly raping the daughter of the woman he was having a relationship with, starting when the girl was 8, authorities said. Cory Hegelein,33, of the township's Morrisville section, was sentenced on Wednesday after being found guilty in June to the rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault on a person less than 13 years old, indecent assault on a person less than 13 years of age, and corruption of minors. (Read More)

Sesame Place Discrimination Lawsuit Dismissed

A federal lawsuit claiming that Sesame Place characters discriminated against two black children has been dismissed by a Philadelphia grand jury, authorities said. A grand jury ruled Thursday that Sesame Place is not liable in a 2022 federal lawsuit brought by a family claiming their two black daughters were snubbed by a character while watching a weekend parade. (Read More)

'Armed' Woman Who Fired Shots At Bucks Co. Office In Custody

Police have the "armed" woman in custody who was wanted on several felonies and for firing shots that shattered a window of the Bucks County Assistance Office on Wednesday morning. The Bristol Township Police Department said Thursday that they arrested April Campbell Precha for several felonies including aggravated assault. (Read More)

Suspicious Package Left At Lower Bucks Hospital

Police are investigating a suspicious package with a note that said "contents poison" that was left in the parking lot of the Lower Bucks Hospital emergency room on Saturday afternoon. The Middletown Township Police Department said the package instead contained ashes. Police and fire crews responded Saturday to the hospital at 501 Bath Rd. to investigate a suspicious package was discovered about 100 feet from the emergency department ambulance doors. (Read More)

Man Who Worked As Sesame Place Character Charged With Sex Assault

A teenager who worked as a costumed character at Sesame Place over the past year has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and other offenses for exchanging child sexual abuse material with a preteen, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said Tuesday. He was recently employed at Sesame Place Philadelphia in Langhorne, authorities said. (Read More)