On December 17, 2024, Steven Paul Najarian, 53, of Sinking Spring, PA, was arrested after he allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted a minor girl at a store at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing. He is charged with the following: two counts of trafficking in individuals; one count of rape by forcible compulsion; one count of rape by threat of forcible compulsion; one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion; one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by threat forcible compulsion; one count of indecent assault by threat forcible compulsion; one count of indecent assault by threat forcible compulsion; one count of intimidating or intending to intimidate person to refrain from reporting; one count of obstruction of child abuse report or investigation; and one count of corruption of minors.
Najarian reportedly met the victim when she would visit his store in the Berkshire Mall. Starting in May 2024, Najarian allegedly began giving the victim gifts, which included items from his store. On one occasion, he reportedly gave the victim a cigarette and smoked with her in the back room of his store. Najarian then allegedly raped the victim and gave her $100 before she left.
The victim alleged that Najarian sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions in the back room of the store and would give her $50 to $100 each time before she left the store. Najarian reportedly threatened the victim and allegedly told her that he would kill her or hire someone to kill her if she told anyone that he was abusing her. Detectives believe that they may be other victims that have yet to come forward. Najarian is currently out of the Berks County Prison as he posted $25,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 6, 2025.
Regarding the investigation, the Wyomissing Borough Police Department Police Chief, John Phillips, stated the following: “That tip came in and was immediately assigned to our detective unit, and they opened up an investigation.” Chief Phillips also stated that “[The victim] was fearful. [Najarian] made a statement that he would harm her or have somebody harm her if she told anybody that this was happening, so she became afraid for herself and [her] family. That’s why she continued doing this.”
The CSE Institute commends the Wyomissing Borough Police Department and the Berks County District Attorney’s Office for their efforts in arresting and prosecuting Najarian. It is vital that law enforcement remain vigilant about protecting the youth in their communities and conducting investigations that target child sexual abuse and rape. We especially commend the survivor and her courageousness in coming forward and telling her story. After all, it is irrefutable that survivor voices will be the force of change in the sex trafficking narrative.
Under Pennsylvania law, a person is guilty of trafficking if he recruits, entices, solicits, patronizes, advertises, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, or maintains an individual if he knows or recklessly disregards that the individual is subject to involuntary sexual servitude. In Pennsylvania, sexual servitude includes any sex act or performance involving a sex act in exchange for anything of value obtained by force, fraud, or coercion.
We encourage law enforcement to persist in investigating potential sex trafficking cases and to utilize the sex trafficking statute when appropriate, like in this case.
Anyone who has more information or may have been targeted by Najarian is asked to contact the Wyomissing Borough Police Department at (610) 816-9874 or Crime Alert Berks County at (877) 373-9913.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.