Man charged with making disturbing posts to Washington County assault victim on Facebook
Charges have been filed against an Aliquippa man who allegedly posted disturbing content online surrounding a Bentleyville woman he’s accused of assaulting.
Richard Joseph Heinold Jr., 28, of 782 Independence Ave. was charged by Belle Vernon State Police with intimidation of a witness or victim before Magisterial District Judge Curtis Thompson on Thursday.
Heinold had been charged in a domestic-violence incident in April 2017 with his then live-in girlfriend, Chelsea Ali, as the alleged victim.
The matter is pending in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas, with a condition of Heinold’s bond to avoid contact with Ali, who obtained a protection from abuse order.
On Jan. 30, Heinold allegedly posted pictures of Ali’s face and his own on his Facebook page; on Feb. 24, Heinold posted several pictures of him and Ali in an outdoor setting on his Facebook page and the page also contained threatening and disturbing narratives allegedly written by Heinold.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, a SoundCloud link on the page contained song lyrics that referenced the first names of Ali’s parents as well as referencing shooting and killing people.
Feeling threatened by the posts, Ali contacted the police.
The police noted that Heinold’s page was not private, and the posts could be viewed by anyone.
Heinold has not yet been arraigned on the charges.