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Warren Man Faces Rape Solicitation Charge

WARREN — A Warren man faces charges across two counties, including charges of criminal solicitation in Warren County.

Dakota F. Proctor-Burch, 30, of Warren was charged via subpoena issued via hand delivery on Friday. He is charged locally with criminal solicitation – rape forcible compulsion, a first-degree felony; unlawful use of a computer and criminal use of a communication facility, both third-degree felonies; and two counts of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image for incidents, a second-degree misdemeanor, for a case that began Oct. 3 in Warren. Bail was set by Judge Raymond Zydonik at $25,000. Proctor-Burch is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 6.

If convicted in Warren County, Proctor-Burch could face up to 20 years in prison for the first-degree felony charge and seven years for the third-degree felony charge.

The affidavit of probable cause in the Warren case alleges Proctor-Burch took over his wife’s Snapchat account and used it to speak to other men while posing as his wife, including allegedly convincing a man to come to the home he shared with his wife to commit sexual acts. The woman told police Proctor-Burch was able to figure out her Snapchat passwords and logged into it on his own device, then allegedly changed the password so the woman couldn’t get into her account.

“The victim was able to provide numerous screenshots of people known to her stating that her old account was active and that the person using it was pretending to be her,” the affidavit of probable cause states. “Screenshots included the defendant sending nude images and videos of the victim.”

Police investigating the complaint contacted one of the men Proctor-Burch had been in contact with. The man told police, according to the affidavit, that he was communicating with the Snapchat account under the impression he was speaking to the woman. Proctor-Burch allegedly provided the man his address. The investigation included a search warrant filed with Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, with police receiving photos, videos, a history of changes made to the account, IP addresses and chat logs. That information was then compared with travel logs from Proctor-Burch’s employer, according to the affidavit.

“Data used from both the Snapchat search warrant and the travel logs indicated that the defendant was the one logging into the account regularly, activating it and deactivating it, and having conversations with others while posing as the victim.”

Proctor-Burch had previously been jailed in the Elk County Prison after he couldn’t post the original $50,000 cash bail set for several charges there that were filed Oct. 4. Bail was later changed to unsecured. According to the criminal docket there, Proctor-Burch was charged with terroristic threats with intent to injure another, a third-degree felony; two counts of firearm not to be carried without a license and harassment communicating lewd, threatening etc. language. He waived appearance at arraignment on Monday in Elk County Court and is set to be formally arraigned Nov. 11. The most severe charge in Elk County carries a maximum of seven years in prison.

According to the Courier Express in DuBois, State Police at Ridgeway charged Proctor-Burke after he allegedly threatened to shoot someone. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the Elk County case and cited by the Courier Express, a woman met with Proctor-Burch on Plum Street in Warren on Oct. 3. During that meeting Proctor-Burch allegedly confronted the woman about her relationship with a man. The woman began filming the conversation as it escalated, according to the affidavit. During that conversation Proctor-Burch is alleged to have said he would break into the other man’s home and shoot him, as well as himself.

On the same day, State Police in Ridgeway received a call from the other man, who told them Proctor-Burch was banging on his door and sending dozens of messages to the other man’s phone and to the Warren woman’s phone requesting they answer the door. Police reported Proctor-Burch left the home on Kane Street in Jones Township before police arrived, but police reportedly saw the truck he was driving coming from the direction of the home and pulled it over. Proctor-Burch allegedly told police he had just left the man’s home. The woman and unnamed man told police the story while the woman shared the video she took in Warren.

According to the affidavit, Proctor-Burch gave police permission to search his truck, with police seizing two firearms, two cell phones and a holster. Proctor-Burch, according to police, does not have a conceal carry permit.

Warren police interviewed Proctor-Burch while he was in the Elk County prison. According to the affidavit, Proctor-Burch waived his rights and admitted sending nude images and videos of his wife to other men.

“The defendant admitted to doing so without her knowledge because he was angry with her at the time the conversation took place,” the affidavit of probable cause filed in the Warren County case states.

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