Man faces new sex charges Towing operator accused of assaulting ex-workers.

By Kathleen Brady Shea INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: June 02, 2006

A Chester County towing operator accused of drugging and sexually assaulting three former employees faces more charges, this time filed in two states.

Yesterday, Pennsylvania State Police charged Mark Ethan McFall, 41, of Coatesville, in connection with a fourth Chester County case. On Wednesday, Brigantine police filed similar charges in Atlantic County, bringing the number of alleged victims - all former male employees - to five.

Police said the latest Chester County case involves the rape of a 19-year-old worker on Sept. 25, 2003. McFall, a former South Coatesville police officer who ran McFall's Towing in Valley Township, drugged the employee, handcuffed him to a weight bench, and forced him to perform sex acts, police said.

The victim said McFall, who boasted of ties to the Mafia, told him that the "test of loyalty" would serve as the victim's initiation. The victim said McFall threatened him not to tell anyone, the criminal complaint said.

Yesterday's arrest occurred in Chester County Court, where McFall appeared before Judge Phyllis R. Streitel on a bail motion.

McFall's attorney, John L. Lachall, said McFall is working as a manager for Maxton Corp. in Valley Township and needs to perform towing jobs 24 hours a day or lose "substantial income." A condition of McFall's bail is that he only work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Streitel denied the motion.

During what authorities have called an ongoing investigation, police executed searches of McFall's business and vehicles in November and February. The items seized included more than 100 bottles of prescribed medication and unknown pills, a Valley Township police jacket, digital photos of nude males, images taken from a hidden camera in a bathroom, and five plaster casts of penises, court records said.

McFall was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Gwen S. Knapp and remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post 10 percent of $500,000 bail. He had previously posted $200,000 bail in the earlier cases.

A preliminary hearing on the new Chester County charges is scheduled for Monday.

Atlantic County officials were not available for comment.

Contact staff writer Kathleen Brady Shea at 610-701-7625 or kbrady@phillynews.com.