Leo Gallagher has historically served as the state’s prosecuting attorney in child welfare and criminal endangerment cases in Helena MT.
As the long-serving Lewis and Clark County Attorney – a position he held for decades – Gallagher’s official role was to represent the State of Montana. In this capacity, his office handled thousands of cases involving child safety, prosecuting individuals accused of abusing or neglecting children or placing minors in harm’s way.
Leo Gallagher co-authored a newspaper article entitled A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION FOR MONTANA’S CHILDREN. It was in support of House Bill 74 and addressed mandatory cross-reporting of child abuse and neglect reports. This bill was supported through LC 1080 that enacted the new felony offense of criminal endangerment to include leaving a child in the care of a known abuser or sexual predator. It was introduced in the Judiciary committee in 2/15/2013.
Leo Gallagher served as a team member of the First Judicial District Family Treatment Court with a mission statement to promote health and stability for children and families through individualized support, structure and accountability.
What wonderful accolades, what great service to the children of Lewis and Clark County. What a legacy to leave. Here is a story of erasing footprints of “service” to the children of Lewis and Clark County.
While in private practice Leo Gallagher was hired to represent a woman that was charged with endangering the welfare of her children. She left her children in the care of a known pedophile and at least one child was sexually abused by the pedophile over a length of time. Leo Gallagher got the charges dismissed even though later he testified and supported a bill that enacted felony offense of criminal endangerment for leaving a child in the care of a known abuser or sexual predator.
The woman then went to her church’s leadership and told them she could not pay his fees and that he had suggested a service that she could provide him to pay for his fees. The church that she was attending then paid Leo Gallagher’s fees so she would not have to provide a service to him. The church leader testified that the church paid Leo Gallagher’s fees in a later trial that she was involved in as a witness.
The woman’s son testified as a witness in the same trial that there were periods of time the children could not attend school until bruises healed. The woman testified that she believed her children were having sex when she was not at home. Her daughter was given custody to a woman in the church. The woman moved the daughter to Boise ID. The daughter entered a Mother’s Day contest and wrote an essay that the woman got custody of her because she saw the abuse she was living in and nobody else would help her. The daughter won the Mother’s Day essay for the woman that rescued her when no one else would help. This testimony occurred while Leo Gallagher was the County Attorney for the county the trial was being held in and he was assisting the special prosecutor in the trial.
The people that did try to help the children were persecuted and prosecuted by Leo Gallagher. Was Leo Gallagher trying to erase footprints for his actions? This persecution happened after Leo Gallagher became County Attorney. Did he need to erase footprints?
The woman then moved around the state. She was displaced in Liberty County, Carter County, Pondera County and Fergus County. She then returned to Lewis and Clark County where she would continue to be protected by the County Attorney Leo Gallagher. Was he protecting her to erase footprints?
In Lewis and Clark County her youngest daughter tried to commit suicide. Finally Leo Gallagher took some action and quit persecuting the only people that had tried for years to bring the story out and help the children. It took the near death of a precious child to get him to stop persecuting the innocent people trying to help the children. Perhaps the unsuccessful suicide attempt was too much even for him and he hoped that enough time had passed that he could quit trying to erase his footprints in the abuse of these children.
Some footprints can be erased and some footprints cannot be erased. Leo Gallagher’s footprints can never be erased in the minds and lives of these children. This is the legacy of Leo Gallagher.