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Fayette jury clears deaf man of rape, kidnap charges - Tribune-Review
It took a Fayette County jury just 45 minutes Tuesday to acquit Robert H. Newbraugh, 52, of Lemont Furnace, of rape and kidnapping.
Newbraugh, who is deaf, took the stand in the courtroom of Judge Steve Leskinen yesterday and claimed he had attempted to hire the services of a prostitute.
Newbraugh said he did not force the woman into his car or rape her, contradicting testimony she had given on Monday.
Sign-language interpreters translated questions posed by Assistant District Attorney Jack Heneks and defense attorney Jeffrey Proden and the answers given by Newbraugh.
At 5 a.m. on Oct 11, 2005, Newbraugh testified, he was driving to his part-time job as an engineer at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort near Farmington. As he drove along North Gallatin Avenue in North Union, he said, he recognized the woman on the street, pulled over and opened his passenger door.
"I was looking for a prostitute," he testified. "I didn't plan it. It was just a normal encounter with a prostitute."
He claimed it was his third encounter with the same woman. Previously, he said, he had taken his money back when he was unable to perform sexually.
"She wanted money," Newbraugh said. "I didn't have any."
He drove behind the former Noah's Ark animal shelter. It was raining hard and the two negotiated payment by writing on the misted windows. Newbraugh said she agreed to an IOU.
"We were just playing around a little bit," he testified. He attempted intercourse but was unable to perform. He said no force was involved.
When she again demanded money, he said, "I pushed her out and threw her clothes after her. I got fed up. I didn't have any money."
"What prostitute would take money later for sex now?" Heneks asked.
"Sometimes they do it for free," Newbraugh said. "If they know me, that's happened. Some are like that."
Court records show the woman does not have any convictions for prostitution.
Also testifying yesterday was Dr. Rory Tropp, an emergency room physician at The Uniontown Hospital. He examined the woman the morning of Oct. 11, 2005, and, suspecting she was using drugs, ordered toxicology tests. He said her blood-alcohol level was .235, almost triple the legal limit for intoxication in Pennsylvania.
"She also tested strongly for cocaine," Tropp said.
On Monday the woman admitted drinking several beers Oct. 10 and 11, 2005, but denied being a drug user.
Tropp said the woman appeared in "no apparent distress."
He also said he knew "what goes on" on Gallatin Avenue.
"It's known," Tropp said. "This is the place where prostitution occurs in Uniontown."
"Are you saying a prostitute can't be raped?" Heneks asked.
"I'm not saying that," Tropp said.
Additional charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and robbery against Newbraugh were dismissed Monday, Proden said, for lack of evidence.
It took a Fayette County jury just 45 minutes Tuesday to acquit Robert H. Newbraugh, 52, of Lemont Furnace, of rape and kidnapping.
Newbraugh, who is deaf, took the stand in the courtroom of Judge Steve Leskinen yesterday and claimed he had attempted to hire the services of a prostitute.
Newbraugh said he did not force the woman into his car or rape her, contradicting testimony she had given on Monday.
Sign-language interpreters translated questions posed by Assistant District Attorney Jack Heneks and defense attorney Jeffrey Proden and the answers given by Newbraugh.
At 5 a.m. on Oct 11, 2005, Newbraugh testified, he was driving to his part-time job as an engineer at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort near Farmington. As he drove along North Gallatin Avenue in North Union, he said, he recognized the woman on the street, pulled over and opened his passenger door.
"I was looking for a prostitute," he testified. "I didn't plan it. It was just a normal encounter with a prostitute."
He claimed it was his third encounter with the same woman. Previously, he said, he had taken his money back when he was unable to perform sexually.
"She wanted money," Newbraugh said. "I didn't have any."
He drove behind the former Noah's Ark animal shelter. It was raining hard and the two negotiated payment by writing on the misted windows. Newbraugh said she agreed to an IOU.
"We were just playing around a little bit," he testified. He attempted intercourse but was unable to perform. He said no force was involved.
When she again demanded money, he said, "I pushed her out and threw her clothes after her. I got fed up. I didn't have any money."
"What prostitute would take money later for sex now?" Heneks asked.
"Sometimes they do it for free," Newbraugh said. "If they know me, that's happened. Some are like that."
Court records show the woman does not have any convictions for prostitution.
Also testifying yesterday was Dr. Rory Tropp, an emergency room physician at The Uniontown Hospital. He examined the woman the morning of Oct. 11, 2005, and, suspecting she was using drugs, ordered toxicology tests. He said her blood-alcohol level was .235, almost triple the legal limit for intoxication in Pennsylvania.
"She also tested strongly for cocaine," Tropp said.
On Monday the woman admitted drinking several beers Oct. 10 and 11, 2005, but denied being a drug user.
Tropp said the woman appeared in "no apparent distress."
He also said he knew "what goes on" on Gallatin Avenue.
"It's known," Tropp said. "This is the place where prostitution occurs in Uniontown."
"Are you saying a prostitute can't be raped?" Heneks asked.
"I'm not saying that," Tropp said.
Additional charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and robbery against Newbraugh were dismissed Monday, Proden said, for lack of evidence.