Second child abuse cased filed against Port Allegany man
A Port Allegany man accused in June of sexual abuse was arraigned Tuesday on similar allegations in a second case.
Gage Ortiz-Rodriguez, 21, was arraigned before District Judge William Todd on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16, a first-degree felony; aggravated indecent assault, child pornography and sexual abuse of children-photograph, videotape or depict on computer or film a sex act, second-degree felonies; and indecent assault of a person less than 16, a second-degree misdemeanor.
According to the criminal complaint, when someone was cleaning out Rodriguez’s former apartment, he found a thumb drive belonging to Rodriguez that contained pictures of a juvenile in varying degrees of nudity taken at different locations. Photographs also allegedly showed Rodriguez in sexual positions with the juvenile.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Rodriguez’s phone, on which they discovered similar photographs with the alleged victim, as well as photos with two juvenile victims, court records indicate.
The complaint lists January 2015 to June 4, 2019, as the timeframe for the allegations in the new case.
Rodriguez, who was already incarcerated in McKean County Jail for the previous case, had an additional $40,000 bail set in the new case. He is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Sept. 19.
In the first case, Rodriguez is facing 23 charges related to allegations that between June 1, 2017, and May 1, 2018, he had sexual contact with two juveniles, directed the two juveniles to take off their clothes and engage in sexual activity while he took photos, according to court records.
A last-day-to-plea conference in the older case is set for Oct. 31 in McKean County Court.
Bradford woman jailed on mass shooting threat allegation
A Bradford woman is in McKean County Jail after she allegedly made threats to perform a mass shooting at the YWCA.
Twanda R. Harvey, 56, was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Dominic Cercone on a charge of terroristic threats, a first-degree misdemeanor.
According to the criminal complaint, on Sept. 5, staff at Bradford Regional Medical Center reported to Bradford City police that Harvey made threats to harm herself and others; she expressed targets of physical violence including mail delivery people, school staff and police.
Further investigation by police revealed that Harvey, who had been living in the YWCA homeless shelter, became angry with staff and residents after someone stole items from her. It was her anger that caused her to seek help at BRMC, court records stated.
According to the complaint, Harvey was in the hospital because she threatened to shoot everyone in the shelter, made threats of a mass shooting and said she could get a gun.
Harvey is incarcerated in lieu of $5,000 bail, and she is scheduled to appear in Central Court on Thursday.
