Zoe Kirk

News Editor

An employee placed on leave from the ESU police department is being held without bail after facing allegations of child sexual abuse. Joseph Gallagher Jr. has been incarcerated awaiting trial for these alleged charges since Sept. 23. His preliminary hearing occurred on Oct. 1 in Monroe County.

These allegations were filed by a teacher following the disclosure of a sexual assault from a four–year–old boy. Gallagher’s charges are as follows: rape of a child; statutory sexual assault; sexual assault; aggravated indecent assault of a child; indecent assault; endangering the welfare of children; corruption of minors; and unlawful contact with a minor. 

According to other sources, Stroud Area Regional Police discovered prior abuse allegations against Gallagher when investigating. In 2021, he was accused of raping a girl who was 10 years old at the time.  

Gallagher has been placed on leave from the university pending the outcome of the allegations. The university has provided this statement on the matter: 

“The University does not comment on matters related to its employees. The allegations involving the officer are unrelated to his employment with the University. Once the University became aware of the investigation, the officer was placed on leave pending the outcome of the matter. The University takes all allegations seriously and follows established policies and procedures when matters are brought to our attention involving University employees.”