62°F
weather icon Clear

Pahrump man arrested on sexual assault with minor under 14 charges

The Pahrump man accused of felony sex crimes with two children under 14 is scheduled to be formally arraigned in court this morning.

Brian Hern, 30, is being held on $230,000 bail after being arrested on multiple preliminary felony charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of two minors under the age of 14.

Hern first appeared before Pahrump Justice Court Judge Margaret Whittaker on March 23 when his bail was set.

Hern was arrested March 22 at approximately 4 p.m. and charged with four counts of sexual assault with a minor under 14, two counts of child abuse, and lewdness with a minor under 14.

On March 16, Nye County Sheriff’s detectives began an investigation for child molestation that was occurring in the Pahrump Valley after a sexual assault was initially reported to the Division of Child and Family Services and forwarded to NCSO detectives for further investigation.

According to a police report, the two juvenile victims, ages 8 and 12 years, participated in a forensic interview at the Nye County Child Advocacy Center in Pahrump.

During the forensic interview the juvenile victims disclosed, in detail, four accounts of sexual assault by Hern, according to police. Detectives processed the Hern residence and found physical evidence that corroborated the victims’ statements.

The sheriff’s office patrol division located Hern at his place of employment and detained him. Detectives interviewed Hern and placed him under arrest.

The investigation revealed that the abuse had been occurring over approximately 18 months.

Hern is being held at the Nye County Detention Center in lieu of bail. The investigation is ongoing, anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Brainard at (775)751-7000.

THE LATEST
Two children flown to trauma after crash

Pahrump’s Mercy Air transported two children to UMC Trauma in Las Vegas following a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highway 160 and Mesquite Avenue on Friday, April 12.

GALLERY: How Pahrump celebrated Earth-Arbor Day

Earth Day and Arbor Day are two dates set aside for the express purpose of celebrating the planet while educating the public about the importance of preserving the environment and this past Saturday, the Pahrump community was treated to a festival in honor of these holidays.

How Nye’s sheriff auxiliary operations are evolving

With their trademark, creased light blue button-down shirts, Nye County Sheriff’s Office auxiliary officers are always visible at scenes of vehicle crashes, structure fires and other incidents involving public safety. But there are now changes underway into the auxiliary program in terms of operations, certain procedures and appearances among the officers, including new polo-style shirts.

Connecting causes and community — Pahrump Volunteer Fair set for May

Thanks to an AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund grant, Nevada Volunteers is embarking on three years of Volunteer Fairs that will take the organization all across the state and the very first stop will be right here in Pahrump.

Landscape Tour will highlight local yards

The Pahrump Valley Garden Club is all set to hold its 16th Annual Landscape Tour and anyone with an interest in gardening, plants or yard art will not want to miss out. This year’s event features six local yards, all hand-picked by the Garden Club members to give attendees a wide variety of landscape types to peruse.

GALLERY: Celebrating the lives of lost loved ones

Butterflies are a symbol of transformation and one of the most transformative things a person can experience is the death of someone they love.

Local families invited to Community Baby Shower

Raising a child can be hard. That’s something the members of Pahrump Mothers Corner understand all too well. In an effort to ease the challenges of parenthood, particularly for new and expecting families, this group of local moms banded together to host a Community Baby Shower and the event proved to be very popular, leading to its return for the third year running.

Tonopah to be home to experimental hypersonic testing facility

Ambitious. It’s an apt word to describe Michael Grace’s vision for the future of his company, Longshot Space Technology Corporation, which, if all goes to plan, will build what he calls the world’s largest potato gun.

Pahrump man arrested for elder abuse

A Pahrump man wanted by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of elder abuse was arrested while attempting to purchase multiple vehicles at a Las Vegas car dealership, according to authorities.