« Sex abuse victims suffer in silence. For years. | Main | Teacher guilty of child-sex charges »
June 21, 2005
Woman faces trial in sex abuse
A Greensburg woman will stand trial in Westmoreland County on charges she and her husband sexually abused a child multiple times in a Latrobe residence in 2002.
Rosemary Dalton, 35, of 770 N. Main St., Apt. 24, is charged with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and single counts of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and criminal conspiracy.
Magisterial District Judge Michael Mahady, of Unity Township, ordered the case bound over for trial after the alleged victim, a 7-year-old child, spent about half an hour on the witness stand during a preliminary hearing Monday. The Tribune-Review does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Judith Petrush, the child said the abuse involved several incidents at Dalton's old apartment at 348 Main St., Latrobe, and at a Somerset residence. The child identified the perpetrators as Dalton; her husband, Michael Dalton; and a Somerset Borough man.
Latrobe police have issued an arrest warrant for Michael Dalton for the same charges Rosemary Dalton faces. They were married in April 2002, according to court records.
The Somerset man died in a state prison in December 2004 while serving a sentence for rape, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman said.
In addition to being accused of improperly touching the child, Dalton and her suspected co-conspirators are accused of performing sexual acts while in the child's presence.
The child revealed the sexual nature of the alleged incidents to the girlfriend of the child's father in February 2003, according to testimony yesterday. Since the incidents, the child has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to doctors' testimony in court records.
The child also repeated first grade, according to testimony yesterday.
Defense attorney Emily Smarto represented Dalton. Dalton's mother, Gail Powell, said her daughter is innocent.
"She could never do anything in the world like this, and we're going to prove it," Powell said after the hearing.
Dalton is free on $20,000 bond.
Posted by Nealus at June 21, 2005 12:26 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
