Dunbar man receives two years’ probation
A Dunbar man was sentenced to two years’ probation Thursday in Fayette County Court in exchange for pleading guilty to 19 counts of indecent exposure in three separate incidents. In the three cases, Jason C. Hatter, 23, of 192 Morrell Road was charged with either attempting to obtain sexual acts or exposing himself between March and May of last year.
He allegedly grabbed a woman along a roadway last May 28 and attempted to force her to perform a sex act; attempted to solicit sexual acts from another woman after he gave her a ride last March 20 and exposed himself to a bus filled with female softball players and their driver last May 7.
Hatter was previously acquitted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Dunbar woman during an April trial for the May 28, 2001, incident.
He was found not guilty of the more serious charges and the jury deadlocked on the charge of indecent exposure.
In the case, police alleged that Hatter grabbed a 22-year-old woman who was walking along a road in Dunbar Township and forced her to ride with him to a wooded area and then attempted to force her to perform a sexual act.
He allegedly dropped her off near her home after she repeatedly refused his advances.
Neither Hatter nor public defender Mary Campbell Spegar spoke prior to sentencing by Judge Conrad B. Capuzzi. Testimony was not given by anyone related to the case.
Capuzzi sentenced Hatter to consecutive sentences of one year, six months’ and six months’ probation for the three cases and ordered him to pay court costs.
He accepted the other guilty pleas without additional punishment.
The March 20, 2001, case involved a 19-year-old woman who accepted a ride from Hatter in Uniontown because she said she thought she knew him.
She realized she didn’t know him, and instead of taking her immediately to work, he allegedly drove around for a short time.
When Hatter took the woman to her place of employment at the mall, he allegedly grabbed her and attempted to have sex with her.
The May 7, 2001, crime occurred when the softball players’ bus was parked near the Burger King in the lot of the Laurel Mall when Hatter allegedly exposed himself to the 17 girls, ages 15 to 18.
In sentencing Hatter, Capuzzi said he believes that Hatter is likely to respond to probationary treatment as opposed to incarceration.