A counselor who told police he was teaching teenage girls how to say no to sexual advances from adults is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in the program.
Vernitt Hoheb, 31, of Stratford, had supervised a youth group at Mount Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport until the allegations were made against him.
The 16-year-old Trumbull girl claims Hoheb touched her in an inappropriate manner in his car in the parking lot of a Trumbull gym where he had stopped while driving her home in March.
"I wanted the girls to understand that no matter who it may be; the pastor, another adviser or myself, they should not be afraid to use the word no," Hoheb told police, according to the Connecticut Post.
Hoheb surrendered Monday. He was released after posting a $5,000 bond and has a court appearance scheduled for May 19.
