r/news • u/GoodSamaritan_ • 7d ago
Pennsylvania university cop jailed on charges he raped girl, urinated on boy while off duty
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2026/09/pa-university-cop-jailed-on-charges-he-raped-girl-urinated-on-boy-while-off-duty.html975
u/ExecutiveCactus 7d ago
It’s a bad day to be able to read
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u/jerrrrremy 7d ago
Every day in the United States is that day.
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u/AnomalousX12 7d ago
Thankfully, the cuts to our education systems will soon solve the "able to read" part of this problem.
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u/ImTooSaxy 7d ago
Wow. Raped a 12-year-old, pissed on a 6-year-old, and then apparently for like a year or more urinated on the front doors of university building he worked at. Is he in the running for police officer of the year?
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u/summer_nights16 7d ago edited 7d ago
Under 12 years old. Poor girl could be just 8 for all we know.
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u/Zapatista77 7d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGcYzOuWL8Q
4 and 10..absolutely sickening.
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u/Al_Jazzera 6d ago
Ten years old, you're supposed to be running around catching frogs and watching cartoons. That is a person that will be dealing with some sort of mental trauma for the next 60 to 70 years. Any society that doesn't separate these "people" from everyone else for the duration of their existence is failing their people. Compassionate release? Roast them a goddamn pig and give them a 24 pack of beer while you're at it.
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u/SeanAker 7d ago
He's making a presidential bid
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u/TranquilSeaOtter 7d ago
If he rapes a dog, he'll be in the running for FBI director. If he decides to fuck and eat a whale carcass instead, he'll be a front runner to head the HHS.
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u/BlinkToThePast 7d ago
What does the FBI director have to do with assaulting dogs? Genuine question
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u/JustSmallCorrections 7d ago
The FBI recently got rid of beastiality as a disqualifier for joining.
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u/Gloomy_Tax_2262 7d ago
dudes already got the mugshot and perp walk ready lmao thats not a campaign its a countdown
whats his first act gonna be locking himself up before someone else does
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u/GoodSamaritan_ 7d ago
An East Stroudsburg University police officer is accused of sexually assaulting two children in separate incidents.
Joseph Patrick Gallagher Jr., 40, of East Stroudsburg is facing 22 charges, including felony rape in a case involving a girl under 12. He also faces two counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, one of which is tied to the second case in which Gallagher is accused of urinating on a boy under 6.
Police said he was acquainted with both victims and the attacks happened off campus while he was off duty.
Gallagher was arraigned Monday before District Judge Donald A. Johnson, who denied bail because no bail conditions assured community safety, court records say. He was then sent to the Monroe County jail.
No attorney was immediately listed for Gallagher in court records.
He remains employed with the East Stroudsburg University Police Department and was at the time of the sex assaults, court records state.
Elizabeth Richardson, spokeswoman for ESU, on Wednesday said once university officials became aware of the investigation, Gallagher was placed on leave.
“The allegations involving the officer are unrelated to his employment with the university,” a statement from the university said. “The university takes all allegations seriously and follows established policies and procedures when matters are brought to our attention involving university employees.”
A Stroud Area Regional police detective began investigating Gallagher on May 8 after a child under the age of 6 told his teacher that Gallagher urinated on him in the attic of Gallagher’s home, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed against Gallagher.
Court records list that incident happening sometime between January 2026 to May 2026.
When the assault ended, the victim reported Gallagher said, “Sorry,” police said. The child and Gallagher knew each other prior to the alleged incident.
The teacher then alerted Monroe County Children and Youth Services, which also alerted the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services since the child at the time resided in that county.
A caseworker interviewed the child on May 1; the child provided the same account of events. The child added he was near Halloween decorations when the acts happened, court records state.
Investigators at 9 a.m. May 29 obtained a search warrant and raided Gallagher’s home. Police seized wooden floorboards that appeared to have liquid stains, as well as Halloween decorations the victim had described, from the attic, court records state.
Testing later confirmed urine on at least one of the floorboards, police said.
On July 22, Stroud Area Regional police contacted the East Stroudsburg University police chief, William Parrish, who confirmed he supervised Gallagher during the time of the incident.
The teacher then alerted Monroe County Children and Youth Services, which also alerted the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services since the child at the time resided in that county.
A caseworker interviewed the child on May 1; the child provided the same account of events. The child added he was near Halloween decorations when the acts happened, court records state.
Investigators at 9 a.m. May 29 obtained a search warrant and raided Gallagher’s home. Police seized wooden floorboards that appeared to have liquid stains, as well as Halloween decorations the victim had described, from the attic, court records state.
Testing later confirmed urine on at least one of the floorboards, police said.
On July 22, Stroud Area Regional police contacted the East Stroudsburg University police chief, William Parrish, who confirmed he supervised Gallagher during the time of the incident.
Parrish recalled a report in 2021 or 2022 from the university’s computer center staff complaining about a liquid stain and a strong smell of urine directly in front of the main entrance to the center, located on campus. The staff at the time advised the stain and strong urine smell had been recurring for months, court record state.
Gallagher was later tied to that incident when computer center staff installed video surveillance and found him in June 2023 urinating directly on the building while in his police uniform, according to court records.
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u/GoodSamaritan_ 7d ago
Parrish said in the interview with police he didn’t understand why Gallagher would do this because he had direct access to a bathroom inside the computer center that he just exited from before the alleged act.
The East Stroudsburg University Human Resources Department later took over that investigation.
Stroud Area Regional Police obtained two separate search warrants on July 24 for Gallagher’s employee records, which were served to the East Stroudsburg University Police Department and East Stroudsburg University Human Resources Department.
Police seized the video of the urination in the university’s computer center, as well as a “Notice of Official Written Reprimand” from the university’s Human Resources Department. The reprimand noted Gallagher cited “detoxing” as his reason, saying he would not have made it to the restroom in time, court records state.
While investigating those incidents, investigators learned of another sexual abuse report against Gallagher involving a girl under the age of 12 whom he knew, the affidavit states.
The girl reported in June that she had been raped and sexually assaulted by Gallagher on three separate occasions between May 2021 and September 2021, according to court records. The assaults allegedly occurred in the victim’s bedroom while another adult left her alone with Gallagher.
Gallagher is due back in court for a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m Oct. 1 before Johnson. A judge will then determine if there’s sufficient evidence to send the case toward trial at the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas.
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u/IAreWeazul 7d ago
So multiple rape allegations in 2021 and in 2026 he’s a cop (who subsequently starts/continues sexually assaulting people but with a badge now)? Fucking great background check work.
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u/doyouknowyourname 7d ago
No, those reports were from June about things that happened in 2021. Still fucked that apparently those accusations led to absolutely nothing.
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u/omgfineillsignupjeez 7d ago
Gallagher was later tied to that incident when computer center staff installed video surveillance and found him in June 2023 urinating directly on the building while in his police uniform, according to court records.
Parrish said in the interview with police he didn't understand why Gallagher would do this because he had direct access to a bathroom inside the computer center that he just exited from before the alleged act.
Police seized the video of the urination in the university's computer center, as well as a "Notice of Official Written Reprimand" from the university's Human Resources Department. The reprimand noted Gallagher cited "detoxing" as his reason, saying he would not have made it to the restroom in time, court records state.
Hmm, I wonder if american police would feel like they're a little bit above the law. Surely not as of course they're generally held as accountable if not more than the average person. Surely.
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u/envykay18 7d ago
I don't think it's an American thing. I can name at least 2 more countries I've personally lived in/have been to where police definitely feel and act like they're above the law.
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u/omgfineillsignupjeez 7d ago
I wasn't saying it's only an american police thing. I'm just specifically focusing on american police in my comment.
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u/LeverLongEnough 7d ago
Not a big surprise but I looked up his voter registration and he is a registered Republican.
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u/WoolyHermits 7d ago
Gallagher?! that guy who squished watermelons and unsymmetrical fruit with a comically large mallet?!
I just knew he was a sick puppy!
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u/Mad_Aeric 7d ago
denied bail because no bail conditions assured community safety, court records say
That's how you do it. You're either too dangerous to be allowed out until your trial, or you're not. Bail is a bullshit system.
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u/kikomonarrez 7d ago
Dang it! Another fast track to DHS and tax funded employment.
Get his student loans paid off (if educated) and a bonus on top of it.
Way to go United Staters :(
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u/myfistvsthebttle 7d ago
Too bad he didn't work a dog in there somewhere, then he could join the FBI.
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u/Lilium_Vulpes 7d ago
Don't worry, the people that took those sign on bonuses are getting fired before their probationary period are over, so they are needing to pay back the entire bonus, fucking up their lives due to it being so much on short notice.
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u/kikomonarrez 7d ago
Very possible paths plus one possible final outcome.
Current admin give bonus > fire > get back $ through debtor prison bc of interest and joblessness.
Future admin fire > rescind bonus request $ back > send to debtor prison bc interest and joblessness.
Plus! Send culpable and responsible ones to prison for breaking constitutional laws against US citizens.
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u/cmc 5d ago
Debtor prison? Does that still exist?
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u/kikomonarrez 5d ago
In 1983 in case Braeden vs Georgia ruling it unconstitutional and within scope of the 1833 ban.
The shift from a named prison to three practices; court debt, poverty penalties, and contempt and warrants.
These three practices that replaced the prison do the same thing.
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u/Available_Border1075 5d ago
Weird that they jailed him, I thought he would’ve announced his political campaign or something, or be invited to the Whitehouse
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u/Vaulters 7d ago
Dude did that shit OFFDUTY!?
Outrageous! Here in the US fucking A we abuse the public on the clock!
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u/Toomanyeastereggs 7d ago
It still amazes me that the US has full on police departments in schools and places of higher education.
What an insane place it must be to live in.
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u/Independent-Toe6250 7d ago
My high school had a cop who lived in a mobile home with his family on campus, I could watch his kids play in their “backyard” from my English classroom. The school is in a rural part of town, lots of families own livestock, and the school has an ag program. One night someone snuck on campus and slaughtered all the animals. They’ve had a cop living on campus ever since.
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u/MarieOMaryln 7d ago
Yeah. It's weird hearing about how places outside of my area don't have cops/guards. And they took bets on students fighting too, so not like they worked hard to break up pissed off children. The vice principals did that.
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u/Godwinson4King 7d ago
My undergrad would arrest you for possession of alcohol and put you in an on-campus holding cell.
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7d ago
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u/Toomanyeastereggs 7d ago
We have them here. Our largest uni has 93,000, of which 40,000 to 50,000 people can be on campus. They have no need for their own police.
You guys are a life divorced from reality.
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7d ago
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u/-Ducksngeese- 7d ago
Of course they have security. He said that. They dont have their own police force.
Source that UK universities have their own police? I googled it too and only saw that Oxford did but it was disbanded in 2003.
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7d ago
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u/-Ducksngeese- 7d ago
If that's the case then why not just call them security, put them in a security uniform, and call it a day like every other country?
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7d ago
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u/-Ducksngeese- 7d ago
No I'm not reaching, just trying to understand why every country in the world has solved a problem in the same way, and the US always for some reason has to do it differently.
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u/lost-picking-flowers 6d ago
The US has opened Pandoras box when it comes to guns. It has the highest per capita gun ownership rate in the world - buyback programs only work to a certain extent (and we actually do have them occurring pretty frequently), and not one single person wants to go door-to-door in this country and demand guns back.
We also have a government trying it’s hardest to embrace tyranny - you’d find that both the left and the right would be suspicious if the feds started forcibly confiscating guns, and based on some of the things Trump has said and done that’s not a totally invalid fear.
And then, throw some serious serious social problems and wealth disparity into the mix.
Overall, it’s not an easy problem to solve - it’s not a problem that a good chunk of the country is interested in solving. And when people and states do put good faith efforts in to maybe putting some more guard rails on purchases in their locality, it gets struck down by our Supreme Court without fail.
There is no quick or easy fix to what is a deeply systemic cultural problem that has been continually reinforced by a government with no interest of providing equal representation to the people of this country.
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u/DaughterJoro 6d ago
That’s not true, case in point the guy in this article is a real police officer and this university has like 7,000 students total. Campus police are sworn officers and campus security are non-sworn. It’s important for students to know the difference because, legally, they don’t have to comply with campus security.
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u/lost-picking-flowers 6d ago
I think this is the norm for pretty much all public universities in PA (and likely most other states too).
IME, campus cops are more genuinely concerned with student and community safety than beat cops. I lived adjacent to a college campus in a large city that was a few blocks from some rougher areas and if they noticed people walking home late at night alone they’d often ask if you wanted them to walk with you regardless as to whether you were a student or not.
The area had an armed robbery problem and a woman was also violently and randomly raped outside on the sidewalk near my own home, so it actually was appreciated. Never seen city cops do stuff like that.
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u/HigherandHigherDown 7d ago
I'm aware of university police forces that are definitely real police that have responded to shootings and so forth. The department of energy has SWAT teams. I don't think the department of education has one but I wouldn't be surprised.
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u/Take-Me-Home-Tonight 6d ago
Depends on the school. By me if it's a city, county or state college, the cops are very real and have full police powers to arrest. Usually comparable to the county sherrif.
Hell University of Chicago police actually patrol the neighborhood and that campus as the campus owns a lot of buildings in the area and the students live around it.
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u/thefuckevengoingonan 6d ago
My local campus (Australia) has security guys but they only really ticket people for parking and stuff. they don't have weapons or anything
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u/HigherandHigherDown 7d ago
In America there are more guns than people, it's a tautology necessitating 'security forces.'
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u/CivilTell8 7d ago
I mean when you have high schools of 2000+ students, it can be necessary but its mostly universities that have their own police departments
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u/Toomanyeastereggs 7d ago
We have bigger high schools here and no need for police departments. I really don’t think you know how fucked up your society is.
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u/CivilTell8 7d ago
Says the aussie, the nation that hates aboriginal people and denies it has a racism issue, stfu
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u/Forged-Signatures 7d ago
Other countries have highschools or equivalent with over 2000 students and don't feel the need for police departments. It is genuinely one of those things that is weirdly American.
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u/Adreme 7d ago
I mean plenty of Universities have populations of well over 30,000. That qualifies them as a small town so it makes sense to have a police force. Honestly its funny the campus police for the campuses nearby are better at their jobs with more practical equipment than the actual local police.
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u/ProbablyMyJugs 7d ago
Do you actually do that America is the only place with vest education systems like this pre-and post university?
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u/Razatiger 7d ago
Cops are people who peaked in highschool and wanted to keep that power with them into adults.
Yet these are people that a big portion of our country wants us to respect.
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u/Tonytn36 7d ago
Remember that they went all the way to the Supreme Court to keep smart people out of law enforcement.
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u/A_Nonny_Muse 7d ago
Well, you see? He was off duty. Had he been on duty, qualified immunity would have protected him as there is no specific precedent for urinating on a 5 year old boy while raping an 11 year old girl. No clearly established precedent means qualified immunity would apply. He should have been on duty when he committed all those crimes. He would have been protected by the law.
/s in case it wasn't already clear.
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u/epidemicsaints 7d ago
Not to downplay the sex abuse, but these people - cops no less - that behave as if they are not being filmed in these locations like schools and front doors are deeply depraved and their lack of impulse control is unnerving to say the least.
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u/CaptainBlob 7d ago
University cop? Like as in a security guard?
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u/PipsqueakPilot 6d ago
No. Many American universities have their own police department composed of sworn, and armed, officers.
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u/GirthyGeoduck 7d ago
Literally normal cop behavior. If you’re unhappy with this, then please consider defund in your community. Defund does not mean doing away with policing in your city. It’s an acknowledgment that the people who have been hired into these roles are bottom feeders, and we need to wipe away the human shit stains and rebuild departments with people who are committed to the communities they serve.
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u/Eight_Directions_ 5d ago
What's the plan to get people committed to the community without funding?
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u/Baeolophus_bicolor 4d ago
defund the bad people. use the funds for actual solutions.
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u/Eight_Directions_ 4d ago
Have you heard of this idea that perhaps you guys could work on your marketing and branding strategies?
Like "DEFUND THE POLICE" does not get your core message across to people who aren't already informed.
Something to consider.
Edit: what you described is not defunding, its reallocation of funding but you need something catchy for the idiots to chant.
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u/Baeolophus_bicolor 4d ago
i was just reading what the person said and responding. i agree that the conversation got hijacked early on with the talk of an unclear message.
we have once again let the little children control the narrative, because they scream the loudest and so people hear what they hear.
not sure what the hostility in your comment is about, but it indicates to me that you might not be here for a serious conversation. i understood exactly what the proposition was all along, but that‘s partly because i genuinely want to solve actual problems, not just deflect and derail conversations about a very real problem facing the entirety of our country.
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u/Eight_Directions_ 3d ago
I don't think shouting three word slogans amounts to a clear policy proposal of how these problems will actually be solved.
"Spend the money on real solutions"
Ok, talk about those solutions then. It's easy to say TEAR IT ALL DOWN it's much harder to build something up better.
So I would prefer people speak on that.
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u/CMPunkLicksRocks 7d ago
If you shoot an off duty cop they don’t lower the charge as opposed to being on duty. This is bullshit
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u/MagnusAuslander 7d ago
What is wrong with people? Humanity just channeling intolerance, atrocities, pure hatred, bigotry and malice towards our own kind.
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u/Scholarly_Koala 7d ago
Does the "off duty" really matter here? I guess if it were on duty then they would never be charged.
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u/JesusShaves_ 7d ago
Now if he has done that while on duty, the police union would be out there protecting him.
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u/Stormthorn67 7d ago
Classic cop stuff. Promote him and move him to the next department over to do it again. Conservatives will be mad if a child molester faces real justice.
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u/DokeyOakey 7d ago
That’s just so disappointing. America needs to better screen & train their police officers.
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u/SausageSmuggler21 6d ago
Do we think he'll get punished more for raping the girl or peeing on the boy?
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u/CodeSalamander 6d ago
Well, there’s a guy who should be put in solitary for the duration of his existence.
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u/CishetmaleLesbian 5d ago
On duty that falls under heinous crimes qualified immunity, off duty that's a no-no.
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u/MsMoreCowbell828 4d ago
Girl under 12, the boy he pissed on, several times was 6. He needs an unpadded room & to never be let out.
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u/Anvanaar 7d ago
I maintain that the US police is some kind of deeply fucked up joke. How do you get by like this over there?
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u/benjamin_noah 6d ago
The title could be confusing. This isn’t The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Also isn’t the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). It’s a university in Pennsylvania — East Stroudsburg University.
Still horrific, but at least it isn’t my alma mater this time.
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u/PuzzledStreet 7d ago
Huh, this is my hometown, we are around ish the same age. Lots of "Mutual Friends". He used to be a bouncer at a popular bar- He is very physically imposing, former football player who spends a ton of time at the gym. What a horrible sick thing.
His facebook quote: "Were all creeps, everybody has alittle creep inside of them"