WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP — A Goshen, Indiana, man faces a felony charge after Pennsylvania State Police alleged he stayed in a vehicle in Schuylkill County for several days without completing required sex offender registration as a transient.
Matthew Lee Girardot, 24, was charged October 10 with one third-degree felony count of failure to register with Pennsylvania State Police as a transient.
Police Respond to Vehicle at Church
According to the affidavit of probable cause, troopers responded to Faith Worship Center along Centre Turnpike around 7:30 a.m. October 10 for a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the church lot.
Police said a trooper identified Girardot as one of the occupants of a maroon Ford F-150 with an Indiana license plate. A records check allegedly revealed an active, non-extraditable warrant from the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana for failure to register as a sex offender.
Investigators interviewed witnesses at the church and a nearby Rutter’s gas station. According to the affidavit, witnesses reported that Girardot and his spouse had been sleeping overnight in their vehicle in the church parking lot for several days and traveling to Rutter’s to use the bathroom. Witnesses said they had seen Girardot traveling between the two locations for approximately two weeks.
When a trooper asked Girardot whether he had notified Megan’s Law authorities after spending several days in Pennsylvania, Girardot allegedly said he planned to complete his registration “tomorrow.”
Bail and Preliminary Hearing
Court records list monetary bail at $20,000 and show Girardot was committed to Schuylkill County Prison after being unable to post bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 20 at 10 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Casimir T. Kosciolek.
The charge is an allegation. Girardot is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.