Butler woman accused of assaulting child in Eldred Borough

A Butler woman is facing criminal charges after allegedly assaulting a boy, kicking him out of his home and making a false report about him.

Samantha L. Harp, 24, of 125 W. Boyd Ave., Butler, was arraigned before District Judge Dominic Cercone on charges of aggravated assault-victim less than 13, a first-degree felony; strangulation and endangering the welfare of children, second-degree felonies; simple assault, a first-degree misdemeanor; false reports-falsely incriminate another and false reports-false reports of child abuse, second-degree misdemeanors; and harassment, a summary charge.

According to court records, during an interview with Children and Youth Services on July 30, 2018, Harp reported that she found an 11-year-old boy touching her daughter. She also told CYS that she threw the boy against the door and told him to get out of the house.

At that time, an investigation started into the sexual assault allegations against the boy, but police later concluded the report was false, court records indicated.

According to court records, after the complaint was made, several attempts were made to contact Harp without success.

On Feb. 19, an officer with the Otto-Eldred Regional Police Department contacted another acquaintance of Harp trying to get a phone number for her, but the man said he does not talk to her anymore because she lied about the allegations against the boy, the complaint stated.

On Aug. 5, the officer got a phone number for Harp from CYS and tried to call her.

She did not answer the phone, so he left a voicemail at 12:34 p.m. Aug. 5 asking her to contact the police department because he had questions about the alleged incident. When the officer tried calling her number again at 1:06 p.m. Aug. 5, he got an automated message stating that the phone number had been canceled, the complaint stated.

Regarding the alleged assault by Harp, court records state that Harp struck and choked the boy, making it so he could not breath and leaving marks around his neck. She is also accused of kicking the 11-year-old out of her house, so he had to provide for himself in Eldred Borough.

Harp is in McKean County Jail in lieu of 10% of $10,000 bail, and she is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday.

Port Allegany man jailed after ax threats

A Port Allegany man is in McKean County Jail after he allegedly threatened to cut a vehicle in half while someone was inside of it.

Troy Renner, 43, of 22 Forest Road, was arraigned Friday night before District Judge Dominic Cercone on charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief, second-degree misdemeanors; and summary harassment.

According to court records, at 6:57 p.m. Friday, Lewis Run-based state police were dispatched to his residence. There, police learned that Renner had barricaded himself in his residence.

Investigation revealed that Renner damaged his girlfriend’s 2005 Ford Escape sport utility vehicle by striking it with an ax — while he was yelling at two women who were inside the vehicle.

He allegedly told one of the women that if she didn’t get out of the SUV, he was going to cut it in half with her in it, court records stated.

Renner is incarcerated in lieu of $20,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday.