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51-year-old man charged with raping runaway teens

By Alyssa Choiniere achoiniere@heraldstandard.Com 2 min read
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A 51-year-old Dunbar Township man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly raping two teen boys who ran away from a local group home.

Lonnie Ray Watson of 17 Lowery Road allegedly gave the boys marijuana and performed a sex act on them in June.

The Herald-Standard does not identify those who allege they are victims of rape.

The boys, ages 15 and 17, told police that they met a man and woman at Sheetz in Connellsville and asked them for a ride. They said Watson was also in the truck. The couple dropped off the boys in a Dunbar Township trailer court where Watson lived. He offered them a place to stay if they helped him move, court documents indicate.

Instead, the boys said he gave them marijuana and forced sexual acts on them, according to police. The boys said he later woke them saying state police were in the area and they had to leave.

Another person drove them to Republic, according to the affidavit filed in the case.

Police were notified by two of Watson’s roommates, who said the boys were half-naked and smoking marijuana in the house and Watson was bragging about their sexual acts.

Watson is charged with two counts each of rape of a substantially impaired person, corruption of minors, indecent assault without consent and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a substantially impaired person, and one count each of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16, interference with child custody, indecent assault of a substantially impaired person, indecent assault of a person less than 16 and sexual assault.

He was arraigned Wednesday morning by Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr. and lodged in Fayette County Prison in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

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