A Newberry man was in court yesterday, charged with neglect of a dependent. His van was pulled over after a deputy saw small children looking out of the van’s missing window and reported the van had no back seats and three small boys were unrestrained, sitting on a swing.

John Aaron Oharah, or O’Harah, 25, Newberry, was arrested last Friday afternoon, September 6, by Detective Shawn Cullison of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

The criminal case came about as a result of a traffic stop conducted by Det. Cullison on a blue full-size Chevrolet van.

Det. Cullison was on patrol around 1 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, August 16, headed east on Base Road between County Road 800 West and CR 900 West when he came up behind the van and noticed a large rear window on the passenger side back door was missing. Through the missing window, he said he could see two small children looking out the window at him.

When the van turned south onto CR 800 West, the officer followed.

In a probable cause affidavit prepared by Det. Cullison, he notes the children appeared to be facing the back of the van while it was going about 40 mph and that CR 800 West is a narrow roadway that is heavily traveled by vehicles going between Linton and Lyons.

Det. Cullison said when the van stopped at CR 200 South, he noticed the only brake light that worked was the center brake light at the top middle of the van and that neither side brake light worked.

After the van turned east onto CR 200 South, a traffic stop was initiated just west of the intersection with North Walnut Street in Lyons.

O’Harah was the driver of the van. One female was a passenger in the front passenger seat and another was sitting on the floor between the two seats.

O’Harah allegedly said he knew about the problem with the brake lights and was working on fixing them. He offered a Pennsylvania driver’s license. Greene County dispatch told the officer they had received a complaint about this van transporting unrestrained children.

Det. Cullison reported that there were three children in the back of the van, ages 7, 6 and 2 years old, and that there were no seats in the back of the van. Det. Cullison said the three young boys were sitting on a metal glider or porch swing that was not secured to the van and they were not restrained to the swing.

Det. Cullison reported he was told the children were the grandchildren of one of the female passengers and records showed she was the owner of the van.

Det. Cullison told the grandmother and O’Harah that due to safety concerns for the children, he could not allow them to continue to drive without the children being properly restrained. The grandmother said she would walk the children down the road to the Lyons Park to wait while O’Harah found a way to get the children home safely.

A criminal case was filed against O’Harah on Thursday, September 5, and a warrant was issued for his arrest the same day.

The next day, Friday, September 6, Det. Cullison arrested O’Harah and he was booked in to the Greene County Jail where his bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $400 and was released later the same day.

When O’Harah appeared in Greene Superior Court for his initial hearing yesterday, Thursday, September 13, a public defender was appointed to represent him and he was formally charged with neglect of a dependent – placing a dependent in a situation that endangers the safety of the dependent, a Level 6 felony.