TRUMBULL COUNTY Girard man indicted on sex-related charges

'Grandpa Bill' has been in the Trumbull County jail since Aug. 13.
WARREN -- A 71-year-old Girard man known to friends as "Grandpa Bill" has been indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury on 11 sex-related charges involving girls.
William McCullough of Jones Court faces five counts of gross sexual imposition and three counts each of rape and sexual battery.
He has been in the county jail under $30,000 bond since Aug. 13 when he was arrested by Girard police.
Capt. Frank Bigowsky said the charges stem from McCullough's alleged involvement at his home with four girls ranging in age from 7 to 13.
Bigowsky said McCullough, who lived alone, befriended families in Youngstown and Girard, and the families would allow him to watch their children.
Parents would drop their children off at McCullough's home and they would stay overnight.
Asked how parents could allow their children to stay with him overnight, Bigowsky responded, "It was Grandpa Bill."
Has grandchildren: The captain said McCullough thought of the children as his actual grandchildren. He has nine biological grandchildren, Bigowsky said.
McCullough would have contact with his own family only if he needed something, never giving them Christmas or birthday gifts, Bigowsky said.
The sexual activity went on from November 2000 until his arrest, when children services and parents contacted police, the captain said.