Winchester man, 20, accused of child sexual trafficking
WINCHESTER, Ind. — A 20-year-old Winchester man was arrested Thursday, accused of soliciting sex from juveniles.
Louis David Galligan was preliminarily charged with promotion of child sexual trafficking, promotion of human sexual trafficking, child exploitation and intimidation.
According to Tom Pullins, a captain with the Randolph County Sheriff's Department, dispatchers on the early morning of Dec. 29 received a call alleging that Galligan had threatened to come to Ridgeville with an assault rifle and "shoot someone."
The caller also said they had observed Galligan's vehicle outside their home. Deputies that morning were unable to find that vehicle in the area, but a related investigation began at that time.
Pullins said investigators determined Galligan had made the threat in a group discussion on Snapchat.
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They also learned he had "been getting juveniles males to send him pornographic photos and videos." He had also allegedly engaged in sex acts with one juvenile male and in an attempted sex act with a second youth.
"Both juvenile males reported payment being offered for the sex acts," Pullins wrote in a news release.
The Winchester man was taken into custody on Thursday and interviewed. He reportedly admitted to the allegations against him and was also found to be in possession of child pornography, the release said.
He was being held in the Randolph County Jail.
At the time of his arrest, Galligan already faced four misdemeanor charges — three counts of fraud, and one count of theft — filed against him in Tippecanoe Superior Court 4 in October.
Those charges stem from purchases made with a stolen credit card at stores in Lafayette's Tippecanoe Mall, according to court documents. A trial in that case has been set for Feb. 28.
The Winchester man was convicted of false informing, in Jay Superior Court, in January 2023.
In that case, he was accused of calling emergency dispatchers in Jay County and falsely reporting that men with guns were engaged in a fight outside a Portland motel.
In 2022, he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Randolph Superior Court, and counts of fraud and theft in Wayne Superior Court 1. However, both of those cases were later dismissed.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Deputies: Winchester man solicited sex, threatened juveniles
