Man assaults mentally-challenged woman
February 15 , 2007
Adapted from the Bucks County Courier Times
A man will serve at least five to 10 years in a state prison for sexually assaulting a woman with mental disabilities last year.
The 18-year-old was set to stand trial on more serious charges of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse when a plea bargain was reached.
Under the agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a person with disabilities. He will be sentenced in about 90 days, after a Megan's Law assessment.
“The victim is relieved that she does not have to take the stand in front of a jury full of strangers and testify about what happened to her,” said a chief deputy district attorney.
The man was arrested shortly after the assault. The victim, who is 24 but has the mental capacity of a 5- to 7-year-old, told police that she was sitting on the swings at a small park when the man and his friends approached her.
They taunted her and blew marijuana smoke in her face, the attorney said, then the man led her into the woods and began assaulting her.
“She was saying "no' repeatedly, but he wouldn't stop,” the attorney said. “He admitted that he knew she was slow but saw it as an easy way to have sex.”
After the assault, the man pushed the woman into a bed of poison ivy. She did not immediately tell an adult. A week later, when she did report the incident, she was taken to a hospital where doctors found injuries from the assault.
Based on a description the woman gave them, police arrested the man. He claimed the sex was consensual.
The man's attorney said that his client is borderline mentally retarded and did not initially understand that what he was doing was wrong.
“This was a very difficult case. He wanted to take responsibility for what happened,” the man’s attorney said.
The man has prior convictions for burglary and drug possession. As a convicted sex offender, he'll be required to register his address with state police for the rest of his life. |
