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Pittsburgh man, 49, charged with 2014 sexual assault

Alleged victim was 16 at time

ADAMS TWP — Police arrested a Pittsburgh man for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year old girl more than four years ago.

Tod Gallagher, 49, of Pittsburgh, is charged with rape, corruption of minors and indecent assault in the incident, which took place Nov. 9, 2014.

On the date in question, township police received a call at 1:40 a.m. from the victim, who said she had been kidnapped “and someone wants to kill her.” She said she had gotten out of the car and escaped somewhere into the woods, documents state.

Dispatch located the call as coming from an area near Mars-Evans City Road, and officer Chris Kopas responded to the scene. He soon found the caller, and she told him she had been “picked up” by two men earlier that day: a 21-year-old man that she had met on Facebook and a man later identified as Gallagher, police said.

She told police Gallagher gave her “large amounts of alcohol” at the Evans City Cemetery and at a residence on Mars-Evans City Road. He also made sexually explicit comments to her throughout the evening, documents state.

She told officers that she became intoxicated and woke up on the side of a road with her pants pulled down and a man on top of her, police said.

She struck the man in the head and managed to run away into the woods, documents state.

Kopas reported seeing blood on her hands but no cuts or wounds to explain it. She was taken to a hospital, where sexual assault kit was completed. The kit corroborated what she told officer Kopas, documents state.

At the scene, police found a pair of smashed glasses, an audio cable and blood. Gallagher later claimed ownership of the cable and glasses which, he said he couldn't find after waking up, documents state. Police also found the victim's purse and more blood on the other side of the road, across from where the cable and glasses were found, police said.

This blood was tested and found to be a genetic match for Gallagher's, documents state.

Police also spoke to a witness at the scene who was in Gallagher's vehicle with the victim, documents state. The witness reported exiting the vehicle more than a mile from where the victim was found, leaving her and Gallagher alone in the car.

Officers interviewed Gallagher later that day, observing a large and recent cut along the left side of his face, and his index finger had also been crushed, documents state. Police also found blood on the driver's seat of Gallagher's vehicle and front windshield as well as mud on the tires, police said.

Gallagher turned himself into police Friday and is in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 15.

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