Ethiopian Man charged for molesting woman during burglary

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KINGSTON – Police arrested an Edwardsville man on charges he entered a Penn Street residence and molested a woman.

Tewodros Melese Alemu, 25, of Beverly Drive, a native of Ethiopia, was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, harassment and indecent assault. He was arraigned in Wilkes-Barre Central Court on Tuesday and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail.

According to the criminal complaint:

A woman told police she answered a knock on the front door of her Penn Street home Monday afternoon and a man, identified as Alemu, asked her if “Marcus” was home. The woman advised Alemu to check at a house across the street.

Alemu asked the woman if he could come inside. She refused and turned around with Alemu following her inside the home.

The woman claimed Alemu asked her to perform a lewd sex act, and pinned her up against a wall and molested her, the criminal complaint says.

Alemu sped away in a green vehicle that police found outside his residence. He immediately asked an officer, “How old was she?” according to the criminal complaint.

Police said in the criminal complaint that Alemu went to the residence after he claimed someone told him that a woman performs sex acts inside the house.

Alemu told police he relocated to the United States from Ethiopia in 2003, and had been living in Washington, D.C. prior to moving to Edwardsville.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled on June 30 before District Judge Paul Roberts in Kingston.