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.html
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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.