A Whitehall Township junior firefighter is facing indecent assault and related charges after authorities say he assaulted a 14-year-old girl and supplied alcohol to her and two other juveniles during the township's Haunted Parkway event earlier this month. Koda Gaffney, identified in one report as 23 and in an earlier report as 21, both of Allentown, was arraigned Friday and sent to Lehigh County Jail on $25,000 bail.
According to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office, as reported by lehighvalleylive.com, the girl told police that Gaffney hugged and kissed her, pushed onto her, and continued touching her even after she tried to push him away. She also said Gaffney gave her alcohol and a nicotine vape while she was sitting in the back of a vehicle. The alleged assault happened Oct. 13 at the event, held in the 4600 block of South Church Street.
Investigators say Gaffney is accused of giving alcohol to two other juveniles at the event as well, though their identities and any additional details about those encounters have not been made public.
The Charges Gaffney Faces
Gaffney is charged with two counts of indecent assault, four counts of corruption of minors, three counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and one count of furnishing tobacco to a minor. Pennsylvania's corruption-of-minors law, under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301, applies when someone 18 or older commits an act that corrupts or tends to corrupt the morals of a minor under 18.
A Popular Fundraiser Cut Short
The Haunted Parkway is held throughout October by Whitehall firefighters, with proceeds supporting the fire department, according to a separate report from wfmz.com. The event was shut down on Oct. 15, with organizers citing what they called unforeseen circumstances, but the district attorney's office could not confirm whether the criminal investigation was the reason for the shutdown, per the same lehighvalleylive.com report.
Records Withheld During Active Investigation
Authorities have declined to release additional incident details, citing Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. A records request was denied on the grounds that the materials relate to an active criminal investigation and are exempt from public disclosure, wfmz.com reported. Whitehall Township police had earlier confirmed only that a criminal investigation was underway tied to an incident at the Haunted Parkway attraction.
The case remains pending.
