STRASBURG, Va. (FOX5 DC) – Six volunteer firefighters in Virginia, including two department leaders, accused of allegedly gang-raping a 17-year-old girl — and then posting video of it on social media — have been charged in connection with the case, Virginia State Police confirmed on Tuesday.
Police have charged 26-year-old Nathan Hirschberg, 24-year-old Andrew Key, 36-year-old Dale King, 21-year-old Bradly Marlin, 32-year-old Christopher Pangle and 25-year-old Fabian Sosa with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The misdemeanor could bring up to 12 months in jail and/or $2,500 in fines.
King is the Strasburg Fire Department’s Fire Chief. Pangle is the department’s operations captain.
The investigation dates back to April when a concerned citizen alerted Strasburg’s mayor to the existence of video allegedly showing the “gang rape of a 17-year-old female by members of the Strasburg Fire Department.”
At that point, the case was handed over to Virginia State Police. Original search warrant documents named five firefighters, but Virginia State Police confirmed on Tuesday that a sixth person is facing charges. The investigation discovered the alleged acts happened at three different locations, including the firehouse.
According to the affidavit obtained by FOX 5, the mother of the unnamed 17-year-old girl provided investigators with screenshots of videos that were distributed on Snapchat. According to investigators, those screenshots show the alleged victim “highly intoxicated” and intimidated by all of the suspects. The girl allegedly reported that sex with at least one of the men was not consensual.
The next hearing in this case is set in Shenandoah Juvenile Court, which is not open to the public.
FOX 5 reached out to the Strasburg Volunteer Fire Department, which had no comment.
