An 82-year-old Pottstown man has been charged with felony charges of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children, among other offenses, for accusations he kissed a 13-year-old girl in an Upper Frederick Township home.
Frank L. Knappenberger Jr., of the 900 block of North Hanover Street, was also charged July 19 by Pennsylvania State Police-Skippack with three misdemeanor counts each of indecent assault on a person under 16 and indecent assault without consent, according to court records.
Police said on Dec. 19, 2023, the teenage victim told police that Knappenberger has always been weird around her and always tries to kiss her when she was at a home on Salford Station Road.
The victim told police she was alone in the kitchen with Knappenberger when he kissed her, police said. She told police he tried to kiss her, but she turned her head, and then he turned her head back and kissed her on the lips, police said.
Knappenberger’s tongue was in the victim’s mouth for about two seconds before she pulled away, per the affidavit.
Another instance involved Knappenberger dragging the victim over to sit on his lap and tried to kiss her, police said. In a third incident, police allege, the victim and her sister were wet in the rain and she was alone trying to get dry clothes, when Knappenberger kissed her.
“The victim explained she could feel his lips and dentures,” according to the complaint.
Police interviewed Knappenberger on Jan. 9, 2024, told him they were there to discuss the incidents with the victim, and asked if he knew what they were talking about, per the affidavit. Knappenberger told police it was about when “he gave her a kiss that was inappropriate,” police said.
He told authorities he did not know what happened, and he had been trying to figure it out, police said.
Police asked Knappenberger for clarification, asking him, “When she kissed you at some point when you were baking, you kissed her back then you immediately thought you got carried away?” Knappenberger replied, “Yeah, I guess you could say it was more than I should have been giving to her at the time,” according to the complaint.
Knappenberger, police said, admitted he went past the point of appropriateness and now had “a bad, uncomfortable feeling.”
The defendant also told police that the victim kissed him on the cheek and then he initiated a kiss on her lips, per the affidavit, and when asked if his tongue touched her mouth, he said, “It may have.”
Knappenberger told police, “I am miserable with myself. I’m ashamed of myself. I can’t get why. That’s the question: Why, why, why?” per the complaint.
According to court records, Knappenberger is free on $50,000 unsecured bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 1:45 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Maurice H. Saylor.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
