CLEARFIELD – The trial got underway Tuesday for a Curwensville man who has been accused of raping a teenage co-worker.
In May, Taylor J. English, 29, was charged by Clearfield Regional police with felony rape-forcible compulsion, criminal attempt-involuntary deviate sexual intercourse forcible compulsion, intimidation of victim/witness, sexual assault and possession of firearm prohibited, as well as misdemeanor corruption of minors, indecent assault, terroristic threats, simple assault and disorderly conduct.
Deputy District Attorney Tami L. Fees is prosecuting the case on behalf of the commonwealth. English is being represented by defense attorney Chris Pentz.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, police on June 26, 2023 were notified of the victim’s disclosure of having been forcibly raped by English one afternoon after work.
The incident allegedly occurred behind a Lawrence Township hotel on June 7, 2023 and the victim provided more details during a forensic interview on Aug. 7, 2023 at the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County.
She said the date of the incident, she worked until 11 a.m., but English asked her to stay around afterwards so he could come in early and talk to her about his relationship problems before he started his shift at 1 p.m.
Once he arrived, they walked towards a path and through some brush towards the rear of the hotel building. This, she said, took them down a steep slope and she didn’t want to go, but English made her.
Allegedly he took the victim under the hotel’s deck where they couldn’t be seen, and when she wouldn’t remove her pants, English forcefully pushed her down and raped her. He attempted to rape her a second time, but she managed to get away from him.
As she fled back towards their workplace, she said English caught up and made a threat that he’d kill her “whole family” if she told anyone what he’d done to her.
The victim said on June 10, 2023, she received a video call from English in which he showed her a pistol and threatened to shoot her sister first.
During testimony Tuesday afternoon, jurors heard from a co-worker who said the victim informed her and multiple others that English had raped her, and while she couldn’t recall an exact date of the disclosure, she believed it was within a matter of weeks of the incident.
During a polygraph examination March 6 with Cpl. Matthew Higgins from the state police Troop C Crime Unit, English admitted to having sex with the victim but claimed it was consensual.
Higgins told jurors that English admitted that he had previously lied to police because he thought the victim’s age made it “illegal” and this was also why he told the victim not to tell anyone.
As the interview progressed, English’s story changed numerous times. “It was hard to follow and really unbelievable,” Higgins testified, noting how with each change, the details started to match those that had been provided by the victim.
Higgins said English also admitted to contacting the victim via video call while her sister was present. He said English claimed that he didn’t handle his ex-fiancee’s pistol, but that it might have been visible, and eventually he “agreed” to threatening the victim because he could see how she would perceive it that way.
“By the end of the interview, he had agreed that every detail of the [victim’s report] was accurate,” Higgins said. But, “he still continued to deny that he’d raped her.”
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1, with President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman presiding and is expected to finish Wednesday.
