West Pittsburg man charged with raping girl

A West Pittsburg man faces 110 charges for allegedly raping a girl repeatedly during a two-year period.

Thomas Engle Jr., 42, of 951 Ninth St., Taylor Township, also is accused of threatening to kill the girl’s family if she told any of them what had happened.

Of the charges against him, 100 are felonies.

Engle was arrested Friday by New Castle police and is being held in the Lawrence County jail on $50,000 bond.

According to police, officers interviewed the girl Thursday at the Lawrence County Children’s Center in the presence of a forensic interviewer and a Lawrence County Children and Youth Services counselor.

The girl said she is pregnant and had been raped by Engle many times. The girl’s mother said she had seen signs that something was wrong, but her daughter denied any problems.

The incidents began when the girl was in eighth grade, she told officials. She said Engle would threaten to kill her family if she ever said anything.

 She said that at one point, she texted him and told him she was not going near him anymore, because almost every time she was around him, about every other weekend, he raped her.

Engle faces 10 counts each of rape, rape by threat of forcible compulsion, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault by forcible compulsion, corruption of minors, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse under threat of forcible compulsion, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, aggravated indecent assault by forcible compulsion and indecent assault without consent of other.

Engle was arraigned by District Judge Scott McGrath, who set his preliminary hearing for July 17.

(Email: dwachter@ncnewsonline.com)