A Tamaqua landlord on Wednesday admitted to indecently assaulting three girls under the age of 10 which police say took place at two of his rental units.

Thomas E. Rockwell, 79, of 318 Lafayette St., pleaded guilty before President Judge William E. Baldwin to three counts each of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, and corruption of minors.Baldwin will wait until he studies the results of a pre-sentence investigation before deciding Rockwell’s punishment.Rockwell remains free on $100,000 percentage bail.He was charged by Tamaqua police with indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age; indecent assault-without consent; indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age; corruption of minors; and indecent exposure.The assaults happened in 2013 and 2015.According to court documents, Rockwell would visit the apartments under the pretense of performing repairs or just to talk.He managed to get the children by themselves.In one incident, Rockwell sat in the living room of one of the apartments, positioning himself between an 8-year-old girl and other people in the room. One child told police Rockwell unzipped his pants and pulled out his “bad parts.”An adult noticed the child’s distress, and saw that Rockwell’s pants were unzipped. She removed the child from the room.The child told police Rockwell often had his zipper open in front of her and touched her groin area almost every time he was at the apartment.In another incident, Rockwell asked the child to touch his private parts.Another tenant said Rockwell seemed overly friendly with her children. She once discovered him rubbing her child’s genitals through her clothing.In another case, the mother of a 4-year-old girl said she saw Rockwell fondling the child.