Piper

Two Blair County men are behind bars with bail denied for public safety after a tip to Children and Youth led police to uncover the sexual and physical abuse of a juvenile girl.

Altoona resident Robert Matthew Piper, 46, was arraigned Thursday by Magisterial District Judge Matthew Dunio on two felony counts each of aggravated indecent assault and strangulation, six misdemeanor counts each of simple assault and harassment, two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children and a misdemeanor count of intimidating a witness/victim.

Hollidaysburg resident Ricardo Cruz, 29, was arraigned March 27 by Magisterial District Judge Kevin Stoltz on 28 felony counts of child sexual abuse material, a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor count of design/copy obscene material depicting a minor.

Piper and Cruz were both remanded to the Blair County Prison with bail denied because “no set of conditions can reasonably compel his compliance or ensure the safety of the public,” online court documents state.

The charges stem from a Children and Youth tip Logan Township police received March 19 regarding a minor female being abused. The tip stated the victim was being “physically abused and raped” by Piper, who told the victim “whenever you turn 16 I am going to marry you, rape you, then make you abort the child,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The tipper stated they were very concerned for the victim’s safety as she had bruises covering her back, hands, head, neck, arms and legs, the police report states.

On March 17, a Blair County Children and Youth caseworker requested officers accompany them to the victim’s residence to perform a welfare check. On scene, the caseworker interviewed all children in the residence, including the victim. Officers reported the interviews were conducted within close proximity to one another and, because of this, no disclosures were made by anyone. At that time, no additional information was obtained to further the investigation and the case was initially closed, according to the affidavit.

Officers received a second tip on March 24 regarding Piper and the victim, stating the victim said Piper told her to lie to police and that she had proof of the abuse on her phone. Officers spoke with the tipper, who confirmed they had text messages between themself and the victim where the victim admitted to lying to police about the abuse because of fear of physical harm, the report states.

Police again went to the home, but this time separated the victim from the others in the household. Upon relocating to the CYS vehicle, the victim told police and two caseworkers about the abuse. Due to the victim’s accounts, police stopped the interview to move the victim to a more safe location, the report states.

When officers asked for permission to take her to the station to finish the interview, Piper said he wanted to ask the victim if she was comfortable with this. Piper went to the vehicle and “looked at the victim in a manner I observed and can describe as silently communicating to her not to not disclose anything to police or CYS,” officers reported.

At the police station, the victim stated that Cruz also lived with them at their California residence. She said Cruz raped her in the home’s dining room while everyone was asleep before threatening to kill her with a pair of brass knuckles. The victim told officers that Cruz recorded the assault on his cellphone and took photos, the report states.

The victim said her family moved to Blair County about two years ago. She said while her mother was out, Piper took her to the bedroom of the residence and assaulted her. When the victim said she told her mother what happened, her mother said she would talk to Piper. Piper then asked the victim to forgive him for “what he has done to her,” the report states.

The victim also reported an incident that occurred on March 17, when officers made their initial welfare visit. She was talking on her phone when Piper confronted her and wrapped his hands around her throat. Piper then choked the victim to the point of her blacking out, the report states.

A search warrant for Piper’s residence was approved and executed, at which time officers recovered Piper’s cellphone. A full forensic extraction of Piper’s cellphone is pending, according to the affidavit.

In an interview, the victim’s mother admitted to knowing about the abuse the victim was enduring. She said she didn’t tell authorities or do anything to stop the abuse because she was scared of losing her kids. She later told officers she didn’t say anything out of fear of Piper. All children in the home were subsequently removed from the residence, the report states.

With assistance from state police at Hollidaysburg, officers executed another search warrant on Cruz’s residence. In an interview, Cruz admitted to sexually assaulting the victim when she was 12 years old and recording it on his phone. When asked if there would be any child sexual abuse material on his phone, Cruz said “maybe years ago, yeah…But I did try to get clean, you know what I mean?” Cruz also told officers he did know that Piper was also sexually abusing the victim, the report states.

Upon review of Cruz’s cellphone, officers discovered seven nude photographs and five sexually explicit videos of girls between the ages of 8 and 13 years old. Cruz’s web history also showed searches including “young teen nude Snapchat” and “small girl porn,” according to the affidavit.

On March 31, officers were notified that the victim’s sister wished to speak with police about Piper. The second victim told officers she suffered physical abuse from Piper in California and that it continued once they moved to Altoona. She described abuse similar to the first victim’s, saying Piper would “beat,” strangle and mentally abuse her, the report states.

Piper is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 9 in front of Dunio, while Cruz is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 7 in front of Magisterial District Judge Wendy R. Mellott.