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Former Connellsville officer accused of having sex with teen

3 min read
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A former Connellsville police sergeant is charged with having sexual contact with a girl, starting when she was 16, in exchange for not filing drug charges against her and her boyfriend.

Ryan Thomas Reese faces felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility. He was additionally charged with misdemeanor counts of official oppression and two counts of indecent assault.

Police alleged that he “accepted sexual favors from her in return for his not filing drug charges stemming from an investigation and search” at her home in October 2013.

From February through April 2014, the girl cooperated with authorities to investigate Reese, the complaint indicated.

Reese allegedly used the girl in undercover drug buys in Connellsville.

“It was also evident from several conversations between Reese and the female that illegal conduct and physical contact between the two had occurred,” the complaint stated.

Reese, 42, of Connellsville was released after posting $10,000 bond. He resigned from the Connellsville police department last year, and Fayette County District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. earlier this week confirmed he was the subject of a grand jury investigation.

The paperwork filed this morning indicated that a grand jury returned an indictment against Reese on April 16.

That same grand jury returned an indictment against former Masontown police officer Robert Kelly.

Kelly, 32, of Uniontown was separately charged with felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, and four misdemeanor counts of making repairs to or selling prohibited weapons.

Kelly has been arraigned and is free on $25,000 unsecured bond. Kelly was fired from the Masontown department in 2013 for conduct unbecoming of an officer.

In 2013, state police were called to Kelly’s home for a domestic dispute. Police found several sawed off shotguns at the home, the complaint alleged. Masontown police Chief Joe Ryan was able to identify a fourth shotgun when he looked at a cellphone video of Kelly shooting it, court papers indicated.

Ryan told state police that the gun had been in the evidence room at the Masontown police department “for years,” the complaint stated.

Kelly reportedly admitted to police that he took one of the guns from the evidence room and had it for about a month.

Both Reese and Kelly were also members of the county’s drug task force. Heneks terminated Reese’s involvement in 2013, and when asked about Kelly’s participation that same year, declined comment.

Both men were charged by the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

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