Bristol, Pennsylvania man Andrew Gallo charged with drugging, sexually assaulting women he met on dating site
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Authorities are urging victims to come forward after a Bucks County man was arrested and charged with drugging and sexually assaulting women he met on a dating website.
Bristol resident Andrew Gallo, 40, was arrested Wednesday morning and arraigned on 18 criminal counts, including five rape charges, drug charges and counts of supplying alcohol to a minor.
Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and Bristol Township Police Chief Robert Coulton announced the charges at the news conference at 10 a.m. in Doylestown.
Making use of the site Sugar Daddy Meet, Schorn said Gallo would invite women to his home, offer them alcohol laced with illegal drugs and physically and sexually assault them while they were impaired.
Authorities said the victims ranged in age from 17 to about 30 years old.
Victim was given margarita with methamphetamine instead of salt, DA says
Gallo is in jail after he could not pay 10% of a $5 million bail, Schorn said.
Authorities say around June 2023, Gallo began to meet multiple younger women on a site called SugarDaddyMeet.com and invited them to his home in Bristol Township. He went by the usernames Drewster420 and KAE on that platform.
Whether Gallo used other social media apps or websites to find victims is still under investigation.
Once the women arrived at his home, Gallo would supply them with alcohol laced with drugs such as methamphetamine or MDMA, Schorn explained.
"He surreptitiously hid dangerous drugs in alcohol, provided that alcohol to his victims, which rendered them so impaired that they were unable to consent to anything, let alone sexual acts," Schorn said.
Schorn said the victims were physically assaulted and strangled during the sexual assaults, with some losing consciousness.
The DA said victims reported suffering ill effects like psychosis and hallucinations from unknowingly ingesting the drugs and they sought medical attention.
"Some reported being up for days, one said she was up for seven straight days, unable to fall asleep," Schorn said.
A search warrant was issued for Gallo's home and when police arrived, they found a victim "in his home, suffering ill effects from the drugs provided by the defendant, where she unknowingly ingested those drugs," Schorn said. Detectives also located an open bottle of Casamigos tequila that had been laced with methamphetamine.
"In one particular case, so heartwrenching, one victim never ... had a margarita, but knew that you salted the rim. And she thought and witnessed him salt the rim and thought it was salt...but when she ingested the margarita, she noticed the salt tasted different," Schorn said.
Detectives now believe the "salt" on the glass' rim was actually methamphetamine.
Defendant may have more victims, authorities urge them to come forward
Coulton and Schorn said there are likely more victims and urged them to come forward.
"If there are any other victims out there, please come forward so that you can have justice," he said.
Schorn commended the victims who came forward, saying that predators count on victims not doing so.
"The victims in this case are so courageous," District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a Tuesday news conference. "They came forward to report crimes that quite frankly predators like this assume the victims won't have the strength to do so and I commend them for their strength and courage."
In one instance, a woman brought a friend to Gallo's home but that did not deter him, Schorn said.
Authorities did obtain records related to Sugar Daddy Meet but were given the "bare minimum," she added.
"It's not lost on me that these platforms know that they're inviting dangerous things to unfold," Schorn said. "We do find some social media platforms very cooperative with law enforcement, I would state unequivocally that Sugar Daddy Meet was not one of those platforms."
It was not immediately clear if Gallo had retained an attorney.
Anyone with more information on Gallo or who may have been drugged on a date with him can contact Bristol Township police detective Emilyann Maialetti at 215-812-3024, or call Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354. Tips can also be submitted at BucksDA.org or emailed to BucksCrimeTips@BucksCounty.org.