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Chartiers therapist accused of sending inappropriate images to juvenile

By Jon Andreassi staff Writer jandreassi@observer-Reporter.Com 3 min read
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A licensed therapist and director of a local nonprofit will stand trial on several felony charges after being accused of sending obscene images to a 12-year-old girl.

Courtney Cavanaugh, 44, of Chartiers Township, is charged by township police with disseminating explicit sexual materials to a minor, unlawful contact with a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility. District Judge James Saieva held all the charges for common pleas court during Cavanaugh’s preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.

According to the criminal complaint, Cavanaugh sent three images of a nude man to the 12-year-old in May. The face of the child’s father had been superimposed on the head of the man in the pictures, the complaint states.

Arresting Officer Ashley Price testified at the preliminary hearing that Cavanaugh knew the child’s father.

Chartiers police obtained a search warrant Aug. 29 for Cavanaugh’s home, where police said they found a cellphone containing images that appear to be identical to the ones the child received.

Evidence shown at Tuesday’s hearing included screenshots of the group text messages in which Cavanaugh allegedly sent the images. One was in a group of 10 people in May, and the other a group of three people in June.

Washington County Detective Matthew Collins assisted with the extraction of data from Cavanaugh’s devices. He testified that the investigation found both the unaltered pornographic image and the original image of the victim’s father that had been used in the altered photo.

Washington attorney Paul Charles Schneider is representing Cavanaugh, and questioned Collins on how the images came to be on her phone. Collins testified that he currently did not know if someone else had sent Cavanaugh the image and she saved it, or if she created it herself. He also said that he was not aware who started either of the group text message chains with both Cavanaugh and the child.

Schneider asked Saieva to dismiss the charges, citing a lack of evidence and claiming that Cavanaugh did not know the child’s phone number was part of the groups, meaning she could not have intentionally sent the images to the victim.

Saieva declined to drop the charges.

Cavanaugh is licensed by the state as a professional counselor. The Pennsylvania Department of State’s online database lists her license as active. As a therapist for an online therapy service, Cavanaugh writes in her biography that she has worked in the field for 17 years, “predominately with children and adolescents.”

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh confirmed that Cavanaugh is founder and executive director of Autism Open, a Washington-based nonprofit that raises money for families affected by autism. Autism Open did not respond to a request for comment concerning Cavanaugh’s current status with the organization.

Cavanaugh faces additional misdemeanor charges of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, tampering with physical evidence, obstruction and harassment.

She is free on $25,000 bond. Formal arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Nov. 30.

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