Point Marion man held for court
A Point Marion man was ordered held for court Monday on charges that he sexually assaulted a 2-year-old girl on July 30. Robert Eugene Sapp, 24, of 209 S. Water St. was held on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated assault, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and indecent assault.
After ordering the case held for Fayette County Court, Fairchance District Justice Randy Abraham remanded Sapp to the Fayette County Prison in lieu of $250,000 straight bond, which was set at the arraignment.
First to testify at the preliminary hearing was Heather King of Fairchance, who said she went to the home where Sapp and his wife lived for dinner and swimming on July 29. There were other people there as well. After a while, the adults were drinking beer outside, while the children slept inside.
Under questioning by Assistant District attorney Jack Heneks Jr., King said she, Mrs. Sapp and one of the children who was there drove to Morgantown, W.Va., to buy cigarettes at 3 a.m. July 30.
When they left, Sapp was sitting outside while other children were asleep inside, King said. Sapp was the only adult there after the women left. She also said the door was open and house lights were on when they left.
When they returned at approximately 3:45 a.m., she noticed the door was closed, the lights were off and Sapp was no longer outside, she said.
He opened the door as the women approached, but he was wearing only a pair of shorts. King said Sapp was wearing shorts, a shirt, shoes and socks when they left.
King said everybody wanted to go to sleep, but one of the children wouldn’t stop crying.
The parents decided to take the child to Uniontown Hospital and agreed to drop King and her children off at home along the way. King said the child cried during the entire drive to her home.
State Police trooper David Bell then testified that after the child was examined and a doctor determined that girl suffered internal tears and that the injuries were consistent with a sexual assault.
Bell said the girl was then transferred to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she underwent surgery and rape tests were taken.
Rape tests were also performed on Sapp and his underwear was also tested. Bell said test results found the girl’s skin cells in a semen stain in Sapp’s underwear.
He said a doctor at Children’s concluded that the injuries were severe and caused immediate pain to the girl.
Bell said he interviewed Sapp three times and received different accounts each time, but the defendant never offered an explanation of how the girl was injured.
During cross-examination by defense attorney Patrick McDaniel, Bell said he didn’t know if the underwear Sapp surrendered at Children’s Hospital was the same pair he was wearing at home.
Bell said the hospital also lost the diaper the girl was wearing when she arrived and it could not be tested.
McDaniel also noted a Uniontown Hospital doctor’s report that stated the girl’s injuries occurred within 12 hours of her arrival there.