Washington County man accused of sexually assaulting 6 kids

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — A Washington County man is accused of sexually assaulting six children.

One victim claims they were assaulted at least 100 times by Leo McIntyre III.

Channel 11 found out McIntyre is a former swim instructor at a local swim school.

North Strabane police filed charges after six kids came forward, saying McIntyre assaulted them repeatedly over a number of years. Multiple children told police McIntyre was nicknamed “bug a boo”. According to criminal complaints, children as young as 5 years old said McIntyre played “the weenie game,” with details of that game that included sexual assault and child rape. Multiple kids alleged McIntyre told them to keep it a secret. The allegations are shocking to parents with children enrolled in the Goldfish swim school, where McIntyre had been an instructor for five years, from 2017 until this year.

“I saw the picture and zoomed in and saw it was Leo, Mr. Leo!” one parent said.

Goldfish management tells Channel 11 he was fired in June for not following curriculum and complying to brand standards. Investigators say none of the alleged victims in these cases were students at the school. Dozens of parents reached out to channel 11 with concerns. Many of the parents said they requested him to be their child’s teacher.

“Out of all the teachers we had, he was the most personable, the funniest, very engaging! Not just while the babies were swimming, but the parents — he was constantly talking to all of us,” another parent said. Goldfish school runs criminal and child abuse background checks. They tell us his last one was run in January 2022. One swim school parent who did not want to be identified said McIntyre came to her children’s fifth birthday party and offered to babysit.

“Everyone is disturbed — it is so creepy. These are people supposed to be enriching our kids and teaching them life skills, and fun, and who can we trust anymore,” she said.

North Strabane police told Channel 11 this is an active investigation, and if any parents have any questions or concerns to reach out to police.

McIntyre is in the Washington County jail, and his bail was denied.

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