A disturbing case has unfolded in Westmoreland County where a 44-year-old man is facing a slew of charges concerning the mistreatment of a 6-year-old girl, as well as offering to purchase her from her mother for $5,000. Theodore Magee, a resident of Allegheny Township, was put in a position of trust only to betray it most egregiously, by allegedly assaulting the young child and treating her as if she could be bought and sold.
According to reports by WPXI, Magee was considered a friend of the girl's family, which seemingly allowed him to quickly gain unsupervised access. This trust was shattered when Magee sent a disturbing text message to the victim's mother, in a brazen offer to try to permanently remove the girl from her loving home. When police interviewed the child, she shared that Magee had placed his hands inside her pants.
Magee's actions didn't stop at the physical, as he also showed officers messages and videos on his phone where he referred to the underage victim as his "girlfriend," according to the CBS News Pittsburgh report. This chilling detail demonstrates the extent of the psychological entanglement Magee imposed on this young girl. Upon executing a search warrant, authorities found further evidence on his phone in the form of photos and videos of the victim.
The mother, who believed Magee to be a friend before these alarming developments, is now forced to grapple with the grim reality of the betrayal. "It's disturbing, to say the least," Chief Daniel Uncapher of the Allegheny Township Police said in a statement obtained by WPXI. The investigation began after Magee himself called police to report an alleged incident involving the 6-year-old and another child. Authorities later determined that the call was a diversion and that Magee was responsible.
Currently held at the Westmoreland County Prison, Magee was denied bail owing to the severity of the allegations against him. Among the charges he faces are aggravated indecent assault, attempted aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, indecent assault of a victim less than 13, trafficking, and interference with child custody.
