Man charged with attempted assault on minor | News, Sports, Jobs

A city man faces charges in connection with the alleged attempted sexual abuse of a child in 2023.

Michael Allen Strunk, 39, was arraigned Thursday before Magistrate District Judge Benjamin Jones. He faces aggravated charges of criminal solicitation of sexual assault and criminal contact with a minor or sexual abuse. He also faces aggravated charges of second-degree criminal solicitation of a photographic depiction of a sex act with a child and aggravated charges of third-degree distribution of sexually explicit material involving a minor, enticement of a minor, distribution of photographs/films of a sex act with a child and criminal use of a communication facility.

All charges stem from a series of incidents in March and April 2023 that were reported to Altoona police by a then-13-year-old victim who described Strunk as a “longtime family friend,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

Strunk was remanded to the Blair County Jail because he failed to post $150,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 14 before Magistrate Judge Daniel C. DeAntonio.

According to the affidavit, the victim told police that she was smoking marijuana at a cabin with her 14-year-old boyfriend when she texted Strunk on April 11, 2023, to ask him for more marijuana. When the victim’s boyfriend left the cabin, Strunk began sexually abusing the victim, according to the affidavit.

Upon further investigation, police discovered that Strunk had been sending text messages to the victim through two different Facebook Messenger accounts since early March 2023, court documents say.

Strunk sent the victim a message saying, “Oh, I would do that if you were older,” in response to a video she had previously sent that has not been restored, the affidavit states.

Later that day, the affidavit states, Strunk sent the victim a message asking, “Would you like to see the size of my dog? If you know what I mean.”

On March 12, 2023, Strunk sent the victim a picture of his abdomen and asked her, “What do you think?” When the victim asked how old Strunk was at the time, he replied, “Too old,” according to court documents.

Shortly thereafter, Strunk sent the victim a photo of his genitals, the report says.

The messages contained in the affidavit were seized through a search warrant for Strunk’s Facebook account, according to court documents.

In April, Strunk texted the victim and asked to come to her house and hang out with her alone at the cabin. He offered to bring her marijuana and told her, “I’d like to do something with you. But you have a boyfriend. And you wouldn’t want to do it anyway, wouldn’t you,” the affidavit states.

On April 11, Strunk texted the victim “multiple times” asking if she wanted to come over. When the victim confirmed that her mother was asleep, he asked if she still “wanted to have fun,” the affidavit states.

Strunk then asked her if she would “tell anyone that we did it” and later reiterated that he wanted to have sex with the victim, the report said.

Police questioned Strunk on February 2, 2024, at the Blair County Jail, where he was being held on a previous conviction for attempted illicit conduct with a minor via Facebook Messenger.

In the interview, Strunk said his Facebook account had been hacked but later admitted to sending the messages included in the search warrant, the affidavit said.

Strunk stated he did not sexually assault the victim and denied going to her apartment, court documents say.