A Pennsylvania Marine veteran, who transformed the loss of his legs in Afghanistan into an asset as a motivational speaker, is facing charges of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.
According to court paperwork cited by the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, Brandon Rumbaugh, 34, became the subject of an Allegheny County police investigation earlier this month after it received a ChildLine report about the girl, who claimed the veteran sexually assaulted her several times.
In Pennsylvania, it is a first-degree felony and statutory sexual assault if a person has sex with someone under the age of 16 and is 11 years older than the victim.
Rumbaugh was charged and jailed without bond Friday in Uniontown, a city of 10,000 where, until this week, he was reportedly seen as a local “war hero.” The town is located 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.
ChildLine is a state-mandated program that receives and refers reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. It’s a 24/7 hotline run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
During an interview, the victim told police she had known the Marine veteran, whom she described as a family friend, since she was ten, the CBS affiliate reported. They began talking on the phone when she was about 11 or 12, she told police.
The girl later spent the night in Rumbaugh’s home in Pleasant Hills three times, she told police. Nothing happened the first time, she said. But the next two times, Rumbaugh raped her twice each night, the criminal complaint cited by CBS stated.
She also told police Rumbaugh plied her with alcoholic iced tea before they had sex and she “didn’t feel like herself.” According to court papers, Rumbaugh told the victim “to keep this a secret until she was eighteen years old,” CBS reported.
The Marines recognized Rumbaugh with a Commendation Medal for valor for receiving the injury while stepping on a bomb while trying to rescue another Marine in 2009 in Afghanistan.
Rumbaugh’s Instagram page states he has two children.
Some of his Instagram posts show him working out in a gym, often accompanied by motivational comments, including one that stated, “If you thought about quitting today, DON’T!!”
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Rumbaugh reportedly is facing a slew of charges, including rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, and aggravated indecent assault.
Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
