BELPRE — A Belpre man was arraigned in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Friday morning.

Robert E. Gallagher, 39, was indicted and arrested June 14 on 12 counts of pandering sexually-oriented matters involving a minor or impaired person and one count of possessing criminal tools.

Gallagher allegedly created, recorded, photographed, filmed, developed, reproduced or published several files depicting children as young as 5 involved in sexual acts between the dates of April 22 through May 19 at 107 Colonial Square, Apt. F, Belpre, according to the indictment.

Gallagher came to the attention of the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office through a tip from the Parkersburg Police Department.

On June 16, the court set a personal recognizance bond and condition for the defendant. The bond was set at $7,500 and condition was no use of the internet.

The defendant appeared before Judge Mark Kerenyi Friday morning with representation by attorney Hailey Murdock on behalf of Raymond Smith. The defending attorney entered a plea of not guilty for Gallagher.

“The total sentence for all of your counts would be 48-52 years,” Kerenyi explained to the defendant. “You would also have to register as a sex offender for 108 months for 25 years.

The personal recognizance bond was maintained and Gallagher is set to appear in the Washington County Common Pleas Court again July 23.

Gretchen Dowler can be reached at gdowler@newsandsentinel.com