Tyrone man accused of raping teenaged girl
Police say Gantt ‘confirmed’ having sex with girl
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A Tyrone man faces charges that include a dozen felony sex crimes for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl last summer.
Tyrone police allege 20-year-old Griffin R. Gantt, forced the 14-year-old girl to have sex with him on July 9 after he pulled her into a van parked in a garage behind his home at 1363 Lincoln Ave.
According to charges filed by Tyrone police, Gantt, who was 19 at the time, ignored the girl when she told him, "Hey, I don't want to do this," when he pushed her against the van, which was parked inside the garage, and tried to "make out" with her, Tyrone Police Officer Chad Weaver wrote in the charges.
During a forensic interview at the Blair County Child Advocacy Center on July 11, the girl explained that Gantt invited a friend and her to his garage, but not long after they arrived, her friend had to leave to help her mother.
Once alone, he allegedly pushed her against the van and she rebuffed his advance. But Gantt then grabbed her buttocks, opened the van door and pulled her inside, police noted.
She said the seats in the van were already reclined and Gantt pulled her inside and then on top of him. The girl said Gantt then raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
Police said the girl, who went to the hospital where a rape kit was performed, called Gantt on July 15 while police listened in on the conversation. Police contend Gantt "confirmed having sexual intercourse with (the girl) and mentioned knowing that (the girl) was only 14-years-old," Weaver wrote in the charges.
The girl was also able to show police the location of the garage behind Gantt's home.
Gantt is now charged with 12 felony charges that include multiple counts of rape by forcible compulsion, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person younger than 16 and aggravated indecent assault without consent, as well as multiple misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.
Bail was set at 10 percent of $50,000 by Magisterial District Judge Steven Jackson on Friday morning. Gantt remains in Blair County Prison with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday at Tyrone District Court.