Boyertown sex offender held in rape of infant

A registered sex offender already accused in a federal indictment of exploiting a child to produce pornography, has been bound over for trial on charges of raping the infant in Montgomery County.

Robert Knappenberger, 41, of Boyertown, Berks County, was being held at the Montgomery County prison when he could not post $15,000 bail, police said. He is accused of rape, statutory rape, indecent assault, corruption of a minor and endangering the welfare of a child.

The child was one-year-old at the time of the alleged crimes. The images of the abuse were posted on the Internet, according to the 2011 indictment.

Knappenberger was convicted in the rapes of two children, ages 2 and 4, in 1991. He is on Pennsylvania's Megan's Law registry. Knappenberger's public defender, Thomas J. Carroll, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

   - Bonnie L. Cook