Galloway

        The day after their learning-disabled teen-age daughter returned home, a Symmes Township couple struggled to make her understand how she endangered her life by becoming friends with a convicted killer.

        Robert Galloway, 38, of Erlanger pleaded guilty in 1994 to second-degree manslaughter, admitting that he fatally shot his ex-wife, Vandora Harris of Newport, in the head. He was released from Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange in June 2000.

        About a month ago, he called the 16-year-old girl, who the parents say has a third-grader's intellect. Mr. Galloway and the teen, who shared a mutual friend, proceeded to talk daily until they arranged to meet for the first time on Tuesday.

        Mr. Galloway posed as her father, signed her out of Loveland High School and lured her to his apartment. He was arrested there early Friday morning.

        The girl had called a friend, whose father immediately used his cell phone to call police. With Cincinnati Bell's help, they traced the call to Mr. Galloway's residence.

        He did not resist arrest and confessed to posing as the girl's father and having sex with the girl three times, police said.

        The teen was returned to her parents. They are not being identified because of the nature of the crime.

        While the family struggles to cope, Mr. Galloway remains in the Kenton County jail, where he faces three counts of third-degree rape and a charge of interference with custody.

        Bail was set at $50,000 after his Friday arraignment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Kenton District Court. Charges in Hamilton County are pending.

        During their three days togeth er, Mr. Galloway dyed the girl's hair red and promised a life of money, clothing and “whatever she wanted,” her father said.

        “He was telling her, "We need to be together forever, and I'll take care of you.' She was on Cloud Nine,” the father said.

        Mr. Galloway mentioned his ex-wife's death to their daughter but said that it was an accident.

        “I'm a wreck,” the father said. “I'm angry, extremely angry. That she would let somebody convince her that nobody loves her but (him), that he took advantage of her, that he slept with her, raped her. I'm just angry.”

        Since she returned home, the girl has returned to eating dinner at the kitchen table with her family and watching TV with them. But she has changed, her father said.

        She used to watch TV while sprawled on the living room floor. Now, she sits on the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest. She seems frightened.

        The girl has told her parents that a former boyfriend named Joe spent some time in Grant County Jail. She refused to take his calls, and he made arrangements with another cellmate to get a message to her.

        The cellmate apparently gave Mr. Galloway her number. He first called her almost a month ago. The girl proceeded to call him every day after that, she told her father.

        The girl's parents have suspended her telephone privileges. The phone has been removed from her room.

        She will begin counseling on Monday. Her parents are not sure when she'll return to school. They don't want to let her go until they're certain she won't run away again.

        Public defender Stefanie Kastner will represent Mr. Galloway at his hearing Thursday. She could not be reached for comment.

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