Allegheny Township police arrest man on sex charge after investigating ChildLine report

Allegheny Township police charged a man from Lawrence County with having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an underage girl they say gave birth to his child.

Elijah James Sowerby, 19, of Riverview Avenue in New Castle faces a felony sex charge along with a count of corruption of a minor.

He was released from custody after posting a $50,000 unsecured bond and faces a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec, Nov. 22, according to court records.

Police began investigating Sowerby in early July after receiving a state ChildLine report and interviewing the parents of a 17-year-old who gave birth to the child, according to a criminal complaint.

The parents told police their daughter informed them that the baby was fathered by a juvenile male, but they suspected she was not being truthful and obtained a DNA test that ruled out the person she named, the complaint said.

The girl told police during a July 22 interview she refused previous sexual advances made by Sowerby, the complaint said.

The girl said she had unprotected intercourse with Sowerby one time in October 2021, according to the complaint.

Sowerby told police during questioning that he and the girl were “close,” but he denied having sex with her, the complaint said.

A DNA test on the girl, the baby and Sowerby, conducted in September by the Westmoreland County Domestic Relations Office, determined the probability he is the child’s father is more than 99.99%, the complaint said.