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Dominic Barbagallo, 43, of the 700 block of Broad Street in Chambersburg (according to court documents; Gettysburg according to the Adams County District Attorney's Office), was first contacted by a self-proclaimed predator hunter posing as a child in a chat group on Dec. 18, 2023, troopers detailed in the criminal complaint. The hunter engaged in sexual conversations with Barbagallo to get him to open up and admit to his crimes, he later told the police.
While in the chat group, the hunter told Barbagallo that he was with two friends in Mount Pleasant Township and asked Barbagallo to meet up, according to the affidavit. When he arrived he found three adult men, yet they convinced him to go to a gas station and talk about his child porn and consented for the men to record him.
In the recording, he confessed to having around 70-80 videos of child pornography on his phone, which depicted children of all ages, this is in addition "mega-folder" of 5 or 6 GB full of more images, according to the affidavit.
He then allegedly admitted to at least three sexual assaults involving children in his care. These involved exposing himself to a 5-year-old child, having a child "run around the house naked," and touching the privates of a nonverbal 3-year-old boy in a sexual manner, as graphically detailed in the court documents.
When the meeting ended, the men followed him back to his home in an attempt to retrieve his phone, which is when the hunters called Pennsylvania State Police.
The phone was given to PSP as evidence but Barbagallo refused to talk, requested an attorney, and denied troopers permission to go through his phone, as explained in the affidavit.
A search warrant was later obtained and more than 100 photos and videos were found on his cellphone, according to a criminal complaint.
He was charged with two felonies for child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility, his court docket shows. His preliminary arraignment was held before Magisterial District Judge Matthew Robert Harvey at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. His bail was set at $150,000, which he posted with surety bonds the following day, his docket details.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled before Magisterial District Judge Christopher A. Snyder at 11 a.m. on Jan. 17.
Authorities are looking for people with information about Barbagallo's alleged sexual assault. Anyone with information about his interactions with children is asked to call the Adams County District Attorney's Office at 717-337-9840 and speak with detectives.
This is the second Chambersburg man accused of sexually abusing children in his care that Daily Voice has reported in the past 24 hours. Click here to read about Morris Franklin Gibson Jr. who allegedly sexually assaulted 2-year-old twins and made their 4-year-old sister watch.
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