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AVOCA — Borough police charged an 18-year-old woman with encouraging two children younger than 6-years-old to engage in a lewd sex act in June.
Shaylene Reynolds, of McAlpine Street, was arraigned Friday by District Judge James Tupper in Kingston Township on two counts of corruption of minors and a single count of sexual exploitation of children.
According to the criminal complaint:
During a family cookout on June 17, Reynolds was inside a residence with two children, a boy and a girl. As family members were preparing food, the mother of the children walked into a living room and encountered the boy and girl about to perform a lewd sex act.
Reynolds was inside the living room during the encounter, the complaint says.
The boy told his mother Reynolds encouraged the children to engage in the lewd act “as a joke,” according to the complaint.
Police in the complaint say Reynolds later attempted to have the boy deny her involvement and witnessed the girl pull down the boy’s pants.
Reynolds told police she wanted to stop the children when the children’s mother walked into the room.
Police said the children were questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children Advocacy Center.
Reynolds was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.