LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — A Ransom Township man is jailed at the Lackawanna County Prison facing charges he allegedly raped a young girl more than a decade ago.
Ralph Metzgar, 39, acknowledged his alleged conduct in a message exchange between him and the victim, according to a criminal complaint filed by Lackawanna County Detectives Michelle Mancuso and Chris Kolcharno.
"I was 12 and you forced me to have sex with you," she wrote.
"I knew it was wrong," Metzgar replied, according to the police. "I'm not going to ask you to forgive me because I won't forgive myself."
In an affidavit, Mancuso and Kolcharno wrote the victim, now 26, disclosed Metzgar sexually assaulted her four separate times, starting when she was 12.
She told no one for years until roughly two weeks ago, when she revealed it during a therapy session with a mandated reporter. The police got involved after that. Under supervision from detectives, she confronted Metzgar using Snapchat messenger.
Metzgar is jailed in lieu of $150,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Sept. 18 in Lackawanna County Central Court.
His court docket does not yet reflect that he has a lawyer.
