Another former Rooney student accuses ex-Pittsburgh schools officer Lellock

March 14, 2013 8:29 am

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A former Pittsburgh Public Schools police officer faces more criminal charges after another former Arthur J. Rooney Middle School student came forward with accusations of sexual assault.

A trial is already scheduled April 15 for Robert Lellock, 44, of Beltzhoover, on 16 counts stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted three young men -- and threatened to kill one if he told anyone about them -- dating to 1998.

Court records show Pittsburgh police added more charges against Mr. Lellock this week: endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, unlawful restraint, criminal solicitation, simple assault, false imprisonment, indecent assault, official oppression and unlawful contact with a minor.

Investigators said last fall they expected more people to come forward. The latest accusations come from a young man, who, after seeing Mr. Lellock on the news last fall, said he needed to tell authorities what happened to him, according to a Pittsburgh police criminal complaint.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette generally does not identify people without their consent who make allegations of sexual abuse.

The former student told detectives that Mr. Lellock, a 22-year veteran of the force, assaulted him during the 1998-1999 school year, when the former student was 15.

Police said the former student told them Mr. Lellock would pull him out of class and take him to a janitor storage closet, where he would grab the boy's genitals on the outside of his clothing.

When the former student asked Mr. Lellock why he was touching him, the officer would respond by saying "you know you like it" or he would ask the teen if he liked it.

Another time, according to the complaint, Mr. Lellock offered the boy $50 in exchange for a sexual act inside his police cruiser. The boy declined.

Mr. Lellock never exposed himself, but would ask the boy to engage in sexual acts, which he refused, according to criminal complaint.

The former student said the encounters in the closet lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.

Molly Born: mborn@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1944 and on Twitter: @borntolede.
First Published March 14, 2013 8:29 am
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