A Pennsylvania State trooper has been suspended from duty without pay after he was charged with harassing a witness in a child abuse investigation.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said that Christopher S. Young, 34, was denied bail at his arraignment after a district judge “deemed him a danger to himself and others.” He is charged with intimidating a witness and stalking and loitering or prowling at night.

The charges came after Sunday’s office and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted an investigation and determined that Young had “repeatedly called and texted messaged a potential witness in a child abuse investigation” and that, late on the night of February 24, he was seen in the woods behind the witness’s home in Schuylkill County, armed with a gun and a knife.

“These charges outline disturbing and deliberate attempts to influence witness cooperation in a very serious police matter,” Sunday said in a statement. “As a sworn officer with an oath to protect the community, the defendant’s alleged behavior will not be tolerated.”

Sunday did not provide any information about the child abuse investigation but said it “is ongoing.”

State Police said Young joined the department in 2017 and was assigned to the Troop L Patrol Unit in Hamburg.

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