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Superior Court upholds violent sexual assault designation by Luzerne County judge

<p>EDWARDSVILLE &#8212; The boys wouldn&#8217;t eat quickly enough, so he beat and burned them.</p><p>That&#8217;s the allegation borough police have leveled against Garfield Street resident Richard E. Zang, whose pattern of abuse against a pair of pre-teens left one boy&#8217;s ears badly bruised and the other scarred on his pelvis, officers say.</p><p>And it was all because Zang felt the youths were &#8220;acting up,&#8221; according to an affidavit.</p><p>Zang, 51, was arrested Thursday and committed to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $75,000 bail.</p><p>According to a police affidavit:</p><p>Edwardsville police were contacted Wednesday by a county Children and Youth caseworker about a 10-year-old boy who showed up at school complaining of severe ear pain. The caseworker noticed the child&#8217;s ears were turning black and blue, and set up a forensic interview Wednesday afternoon at the Children&#8217;s Advocacy Center in Scranton, which was attended by an Edwardsville police officer.</p><p>There, the boy told investigators that on Friday evening, Zang had become very angry that the boy was taking so long to eat his dinner, so he slapped both of the child&#8217;s ears.</p><p>It was not the first time Zang had gotten rough with him, the boy told investigators.</p><p>Sometimes, the boy said, Zang would make him stand in a corner, with his hands raised, for an hour or more. At other times, Zang &#8220;would hit him when he thought he was acting up.&#8221;</p><p>The boy&#8217;s 12-year-old brother then told investigators his own tales of abuse, police said.</p><p>The older boy spoke of a similar incident last year, in which he said Zang felt he was taking too long to finish his dinner, so he made the boy stand in the corner with his arms up. Zang refused to let the child go to the bathroom, and the boy told investigators he ended up urinating in his pants.</p><p>The abuse only intensified after that, the child said.</p><p>&#8220;Zang then made a loaf of bread and placed a hot piece of bread into the child&#8217;s pants, just above his penis, causing a severe burn,&#8221; according to the affidavit. Then Zang forced the child to sit down.</p><p>A doctor who examined both boys discovered a scar on the older boy&#8217;s pelvis, consistent with a severe burn, police said. The doctor also said both of the younger boy&#8217;s ears would require further treatment.</p><p>Zang has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, as well as two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person.</p><p>The alleged abuser was arraigned Thursday afternoon before District Judge Paul J. Roberts. A preliminary hearing has been set for Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. before Roberts.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Richard-Zang-9-10-152.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Zang </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Richard-Zang-9-10-152.jpg</photo0><caption0>Zang </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Richard E. Zang, 51, accused of stuffing scalding bread down youth&#8217;s pants</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Roger DuPuis at 570-991-6113 or on Twitter @rogerdupuis2.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Police: Edwardsville man beat, burned boys for eating too slowly