A husband and wife have been charged with sexually assaulting their three daughters over a period of 17 years.
Christopher and Kelly Longo were arrested by Lebanon city police in early October, according to a press release issued Friday by the District Attorney’s office.
Police charged Christopher Longo with charges including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and endangering the welfare of children. Police charged Kelly Longo with endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, indecent assault, and conspiracy.
All charges stem from allegations the couple sexually assaulted their minor children for nearly 17 years, the release said.
According to the release, police responded to a local middle school for the report of sexual abuse by a student. Police referred the student for a forensic interview at the local Children’s Resource Center.
The release states that a teenage girl reported that her father, Christopher Longo, had been sexually abusing her since she was 5 years old. The girl’s older sister, now an adult, also told authorities that her father started abusing her when she was 5, and the abuse continued until she turned 18. The older sister said her mother, Kelly Longo, sometimes joined in the assaults.
A third child in the home, whose age in relation to the other children was not provided, told authorities that her father started abusing her when she was 12.
According to the release, all three daughters told their mother about their father’s abuse. “She told the children they lied and did not report the allegations to police,” the release states, further noting that the mother participated in the abuse of at least one of her children.
The District Attorney’s office notes that Kelly Longo has no criminal record. Christopher Longo was convicted in 2001 of indecent assault.
Both suspects are being held in the Lebanon County Correctional Facility.
District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said in a statement that Christopher Longo “raped, molested, and abused” three underage children within his household for nearly 20 years. “For a mother to know of the abuse and not help her children is disgusting. For a mother to know of the abuse and participate in the sexual assaults is unfathomable. These Defendants will be fully held accountable for their depraved actions.”
Hess Graf said investigators believe additional victims may exist and ask anyone with information on the case to contact the Lebanon County Detective Bureau at 717-228-4403 or the Lebanon City Police Department at 717-272-6611.
Editor’s note: A press release from the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office on the same day reported on charges against Katherine Longo, 47, who was accused of the ongoing sexual abuse of two children. Although the defendants share surnames, no immediate connection between the two cases was identified in the press releases. A spokesperson for the District Attorney could not immediately be reached for comment on the two cases.
Read More: Lebanon woman, 47, charged with ongoing sexual abuse of two children
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