Father of alleged synagogue gunman charged with rape in 1970s

Channel 11 poured through the paperwork this afternoon -- subpoenas, criminal affidavits and police reports -- about Randall Bowers, the father of alleged gunman, Robert Bowers, who's accused of murdering 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue.

When Bowers was seven years old, his father, Randall, was charged with rape and other sex crimes after police say he held a woman against her will, forced her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.

Six months later, Randall Bowers was getting ready to go to trial on those charges when he committed suicide at a campground in Tionesta Township, Forest County.

This is the first big criminal footprint Channel 11 has found in the Bowers family history.

For days, Channel 11 has been connecting with neighbors, former acquaintances and family members who all described Robert Bowers as a loner, a quiet, anti-social person who would sometimes wave and make small talk when necessary.

That drastically contradicts his alleged online persona that detectives described as hateful. Bowers is accused of espousing anti-Semitic beliefs on social media site Gab before carrying out the massacre.

RELATED:

• What we know about victims killed at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
• Timeline of events at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh
• What we know about officers injured in synagogue shooting
• How to help victims of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
• 'I was just breaking down, I couldn't hold it': Worker inside synagogue recounts shooting
• What we know about Robert Bowers, suspect in mass shooting at Pittsburgh synagogue
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