A 21-year-old Bellefonte man was charged yesterday in connection with the sexual assault of an 8-year-old State College-area boy.

Jacob Shuey, of the 1400 block of Benner Pike, was arraigned on one count of sexual abuse of children and committed to Centre County Prison with bail set at $50,000. He was also ordered not to have contact with individuals under the age of 18.

On March 12, 2002, the State College Police Department received a report that Shuey had been communicating with two friends, one male and one female, through the computer. The female friend allegedly received a forwarded e-mail message from Shuey's male friend stating that Shuey had recently had performed oral sex on an 8-year-old boy, according to court documents.

In the e-mail message, Shuey allegedly indicated that he intended to perform more sexual acts with the child in the future, the documents said.

Police searched Shuey's residence and seized two computers. An agent found 56 images of child pornography on one of the computers, along with text files describing Shuey's sexual encounter with an 8-year-old boy, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday at Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte.