Uniontown native and decorated Marine accused of raping teen
A former Marine and Uniontown native is being held without bail at the Allegheny County jail after being accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
In a complaint filed Tuesday, Allegheny County Police alleged that on at least four occasions in April, Brandon Rumbaugh, 36, of Pleasant Hills, had sexual intercourse with the 13-year-old.
Police said that Rumbaugh had known the child since she was 10 years old and the two started talking on the phone when she was 11 or 12 years old.
The alleged victim told police that on the night of the first sexual encounter, Rumbaugh bought her alcohol at a local gas station. According to the criminal complaint, video footage taken April 12 at that gas station shows Rumbaugh and the girl together, and he is seen purchasing alcohol.
Police said Rumbaugh told the 13-year-old to keep their sexual encounters a secret until she was 18.
Rumbaugh, a 2007 graduate of Uniontown Area High School, lost both of his legs in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Nov. 29, 2010. The Purple Heart recipient was running to rescue another Marine who’d stepped on an IED.
He spent two years at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he underwent multiple surgeries and learned to walk with prosthetics.
In 2014, Rumbaugh moved into a specially adaptive home in Uniontown that was designed specifically for him and built by Homes for Our Troops (HFOT), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit. Later that year, he spent nearly a month sleeping in a tent in the Gen. George C. Marshall Memorial Plaza in Uniontown to raise awareness for homeless veterans.
In a 2023 interview, Rumbaugh, who sold his Uniontown home several years ago, told the Herald-Standard he was traveling nationally and internationally as a motivational speaker, talking about overcoming challenges and advocating for veterans’ issues.
He is charged with rape, statutory sexual asasult, unlawful contact with a minor, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of minors, furnishing liquor to a minor and three counts indecent assault.
Rumbaugh was denied bail during his Wednesday arraignment. The reason listed on his criminal docket is “defendant poses a threat to the victim, witnesses and community.”
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next month.