Latrobe couple to serve probation for helping juvenile group home runaway
Jan. 26—A Latrobe couple has been ordered to serve probation for assisting a 17-year-old runaway from a juvenile group home in 2021.
Eric L. Mallin, 52, and his wife, Michele, were charged with corruption of a minor based on accusations they gave the teen a place to stay before they drove her to a bus station to flee the area. She ultimately changed her mind and returned the next day to Adelphoi Village in Derry.
Police said Michele Mallin, 50, met the teen at a local convenience store and brought her to the couple's home, where Eric Mallin cut the girl's hair to alter her appearance. Investigators said the Mallins drove the teen, who had a prepaid bus ticket to Georgia, to a bus station near Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.
According to court records, police identified the Mallins through their vehicle's license plate number, which was seen on surveillance video at the bus station.
Eric Mallin pleaded guilty to the one misdemeanor count and was sentenced by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger to two years of probation.
A related charge of indecent assault, based on allegations made by the teen that Eric Mallin groped and propositioned her at the couple's home, was dismissed by prosecutors.
Michele Mallin was ordered to serve one year of probation after she was admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time nonviolent offenders. She did not plead guilty and can have her record expunged at the conclusion of her probation term.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
