Man forced girl to drive him to bars, police say

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June 29, 2012

Man forced girl to drive him to bars, police say

Patrick Buchnowski pbuchnowski@tribdem.com The Tribune-Democrat Fri Jun 29, 2012, 11:39 PM EDT

BERLIN — A Somerset man was charged Thursday with endangering the welfare of children after police said he forced a 14-year-old girl to drive him to area taverns with an 8-year-old girl in the back seat.

Berlin police said in a criminal complaint that Frank Kolarik, 57, told the girl that if she did not comply, he would “kill her and her sister.”

Kolarik had the girl drive him to Maggie Mae’s Neighborhood Cafe in Somerset and had her stay in the vehicle while he drank, police said.

The girl also drove Kolarik to a beer distributor to buy beer and then drove him to a friend’s house on two occasions, police said.

It is also alleged that Kolarik made the girl drive him from Berlin to Somerset and then back to Berlin.

The girl, who did not have driver’s license, told police she didn’t know how to operate a motor vehicle. She told officers she “feared for her and her sister’s life when she did so,” police said in the complaint.

The girl also told police that Kolarik was on probation.

Kolarik was charged with two counts each of endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

He was arraigned by on-call District Judge Douglas Bell of Meyersdale and released on $5,000 unsecured bond.

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