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PITTSBURGHLIVE.com FALLOWFIELD TWP., PA WATCHVIDEO Fallowfield Township's former top cop was arraigned Monday on charges of endangering the welfare of children after he was accused of having sex with a runaway juvenile. Robert M. Helphenstine, 39, who resigned in August as the officer in charge of the Fallowfield Police Department, is charged with official oppression and obstruction of justice for the incident that detectives say occurred in March, court documents state. Helphenstine, who was released on $25,000 unsecured bond to await a preliminary hearing scheduled Nov. 20, worked as a civilian state police dispatcher. He resigned from that position in February, according to a state police spokeswoman. According to the criminal complaint: Helphenstine met the runaway about 2 a.m. March 17 along a street in downtown Pittsburgh. Helphenstine drove him home where the encounters occurred. Helphenstine was at work two days later when the juvenile's family called him and told him his age and that he was a runaway. Helphenstine then asked emergency dispatchers to run a missing persons query. Despite this confirmation, Helphenstine allowed the juvenile to remain at his home until the next day when he drove him to the airport. Hired in November 2008, Helphenstine was placed on administrative leave with pay in April 2009 after the Fallowfield supervisors learned an investigation into the alleged incident had begun. Steve Kenyon was named officer-in-charge after Helphenstine resigned. Except for the few months Helphenstine was on the job, Kenyon has been the lone full-time Fallowfield officer since July 2008, when Aaron Waggle left for job in Florida. Kenyon said he told the supervisors he "knew some facts" about Helphenstine's background, but the supervisor did not want to listen. "It is my hope with the new supervisors that they can move forward," Kenyon said. Under contract, the township is required to employ two full-time officers, Kenyon said. The contract requires the township to choose from its qualified part-time officers to fill a full-time vacancy, Kenyon said. "I have four part-time officers who are qualified and want the position," Kenyon said. The township's part-time officers are Michael Kresich, Jonathan Crouch, Eric Holt and Elizabeth Gatta. Kresich also works full time for Carlow University police. Holt works part time for South Strabane police, and Gatta works part time for the Charleroi police department. "I feel all of our part-time police are more than qualified to work full time here," Kenyon said. "It is my hope the supervisors can begin the interview process soon." Kenyon said he plans to ask the supervisor to name him chief. He has been overseeing the department since April and also did so informally for six months last year. In the past, the supervisors have elevated the officer in charge to chief when the position becomes open, Kenyon said. "My hope is we can get these issues resolved without the need to file a grievance, and we can finally move forward with police department and get rid of the reputation this place has had in the past," Kenyon said. After Waggle left, Supervisor Donn Henderson made a motion to name Kenyon officer in charge. That motion died for a lack of a second. He voted against Helphenstine's appointment, and resigned as police liaison over the issue. "Its unfortunate that Mrs. Woodward did not listen to my advice on that situation," Henderson said of Supervisor Olga Woodward. "I had presented a plan to bring better leadership to that department, and my colleagues thought bringing inexperience and someone who knew nothing about that position was a good idea. Now we have another black eye on that department." Supervisor Olga Woodward could not be reached for comment at her home or the township municipal building this morning. The department was without leadership from late October 2006, when Capt. Alan Pettit resigned, until Helphenstine was hired. Pettit resigned after he was accused of using a township credit card to purchase gasoline for his personal vehicle and a friend from January 2003 to July 2006. In October 2008, Pettit was charged with theft of drugs stemming from a raid and the subsequent arrest of Charles Paith, 26, of Van Voorhis. He was accused of stealing 5 ounces of cocaine and 15 ounces of marijuana from the township police department evidence room. None of the current officers were with the department at that time. Told of Kenyon's comments, Henderson said, "That's part of the problem with the department. The supervisors have not given anyone the leadership position in that department."
PHILLY.com CANONSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA A fired southwestern Pennsylvania police officer has been charged with child endangerment for having sex with a 17-year-old boy even after learning the boy was a runaway from Virginia. Thirty-nine-year-old Robert Helphenstine was officer in charge of the tiny Fallowfield Township police department in Washington County when the alleged crimes occurred in March. He was fired in August. Police say Helphenstine met the boy from Chesapeake, Va. on the streets of Pittsburgh. Helphenstine told the boy he was a police officer and took him home, where they twice had sex. Helphenstine's attorney denies charges that Helphenstine didn't immediately contact authorities after learning from a national database that the boy was a runaway. Helphenstine helped the boy board a flight home three days after meeting him.
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