An 8-year-old Tamaqua boy testified Wednesday that a 16-year-old boy lured him into the woods, made him strip, then beat him, sexually assaulted him and threatened to kill him.

The boy also said the teen, Wayne Heffelfinger of Tamaqua, stuffed dirt and his underwear in his mouth, made him urinate on his own clothing and left him to ride his bike home naked.

The boy testified at a hearing in Schuylkill County Court to determine whether Heffelfinger, who faces 10 charges, including rape and physical assault, should be tried as a juvenile or an adult.

Judge William Baldwin granted defense attorney Andrew Lentowski more time for an independent evaluation of Heffelfinger after a juvenile probation officer testified he would be a high risk to be a repeat offender if sentenced as a juvenile.

Testimony showed Heffelfinger had been disciplined at school for touching and propositioning a female student and touching a male student's arm and telling him that he loved him.

Heffelfinger also was once caught in a bush performing a sex act, according to testimony.

A juvenile probation officer also noted Heffelfinger, who will turn 17 in October, did not know the alleged victim before the incident.

"This is a very predatorial crime," the officer, Christian Andruchek, said.

In the hourlong hearing, the 8-year-old gave this account of the June 11 incident:

While riding his bicycle shortly before noon, he met Heffelfinger, who repeatedly asked him if he wanted to play "truth or dare."

He told Heffelfinger he didn't want to, but mentioned that he and his friends had a hideout in the woods. Heffelfinger said he would pay him $50 to see the hideout.

"I said, "Go get your 50 bucks and I'll show you,"' the boy testified.

Heffelfinger refused to get the money first, and the boy took him into the woods to show him, first, a hideout he and his friends used, and then another hideout deeper in the woods.

It was then that Heffelfinger threatened physical violence if the boy did not strip naked.

"He told me to take off my clothes or he was going to choke me to death," the boy said.

He said he removed his clothes, and Heffelfinger did the same, then demanded the boy urinate on his own shirt, which he did.

Heffelfinger then assaulted and sexually assaulted the boy, the boy said.

"I said, "Can I please go home?"' the boy said. "He said no."

After finishing, he warned the boy not to tell anyone.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll choke you to death," the boy testified Heffelfinger said. "I'll kill you, I'll hunt you down."

Heffelfinger told the boy to meet him in the same spot every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the boy testified.

After riding home on his bike naked, the boy told his mother of the incident, and she immediately called police.

Tamaqua police Cpl. John O'Conner, lead investigator in the case, said he recognized the boy's description of Heffelfinger, who he knew had been involved in other sex-related incidents.

The teen was escorted to authorities by his parents after officers began looking for him, police said.

At the hearing, District Attorney Frank Cori also called as witnesses Andruchek of the county Juvenile Probation Department, O'Conner and rape counselor Mary-Beth Semerod.

Andruchek said he never spoke to Heffelfingerbut concluded that Heffelfinger was at high risk to be a repeat offender after consulting with colleagues in the department and reviewing Heffelfinger's records.

Under cross-examination, Andruchek admitted he has no psychological education on the subject.

Heffelfinger, a Tamaqua Area School District student, has no signs of mental illness or retardation and has an average IQ of 103 and took an advanced algebra class last school year, Andruchek said.

The defense presented no witnesses.

Cori said he was pleased with the proceedings. He said he would wait until the results of the defense's evaluation come in before deciding what to do next in the case.

If the evaluation rates the situation less dire than Andruchek did, Cori said, he most likely would press for his own medical review.

"We would want an independent evaluation," Cori said.