Ex-School Cop Found Guilty In Sex Abuse Case
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The jury has reached a verdict in the case of former Pittsburgh School Police officer Robert Lellock.
Lellock was found guilty of molesting young boys when they were students at Arthur J. Rooney Middle School in Brighton Heights beginning in the late 1990s.
The jury of six men and six women took about three hours to come up with the verdict.
Last week, Lellock testified he developed a chart showing he couldn't have been where some of the victims said he was, and that he wasn't at Arthur J. Rooney Middle School as much as they claimed.
The prosecution though said the chart had enough unexplained times that Lellock had plenty of opportunity to commit the crimes. Also, that two of the alleged victims, who did not know each other, pointed to the same closet when asked by police where the molestations happened.
"I feel a sense of joy in my heart in that I know he can't do this to anybody else," said one of the abuse victims who did not want to be identified. "I've been waiting 15 years for this to happen and it finally happened. I'm relieved, I'm very happy with the verdict. It dramatically affected my life in all the worst ways."
Lellock claimed throughout the trial that he was innocent and called his accusers liars.
In closing arguments, the defense said the whole case had a snowball effect once Victim No. 1 spoke with police and that he could have been mistaken. Also, that it would seem strange that of the 600,000 students he came in contact with, he would only choose four to molest.
He was found guilty of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault. He could face 20 to 40 years in prison when sentenced Oct. 8.
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