Foster parent arrested, charged with child rape and statutory sexual assault
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- Foster parent Tyler W. Fuller faces felony charges for repeated child rape.
- Emails allegedly show Fuller planning to marry the child and avoid detection.
- Judge denied bail citing safety; Fuller remains jailed awaiting July hearing.
A foster parent was accused Tuesday of raping a child over a two-year period in the State College area, allegations investigators said were backed up by frequent emails he sent the child.
Tyler W. Fuller, 31, of Somerset County, was arrested Tuesday on felony charges of child rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and unlawful contact with a minor.
The teen said during a January interview that Fuller raped her for the first time the day before her 13th birthday, a State College police detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Fuller then told her she could not tell anyone or he would kill himself, the child told police. He also said she would be removed from the Ferguson Township home and put back into the foster care system if she disclosed, police wrote.
The alleged assaults, the detective wrote in the charging document, were carried out from July 2021 until August 2023. The child said she was also raped and forced to perform oral sex in Boalsburg.
After the child refused one alleged assault, she said Fuller got upset, retrieved a handgun from his safe, loaded it and again threatened to kill himself. She immediately left the room and was removed from the home by another foster parent, police wrote.
The detective said emails between Fuller and the child included discussions about Fuller buying her an engagement ring, marrying her, trying to avoid “getting caught” and how to deceive child and youth services so they could “reunite.”
No defense lawyer was listed.
District Judge Gregory Koehle denied bail Tuesday, citing public safety. Fuller is incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16.