Court briefs
Man on trial A 22-year-old man is on trial this week in Fayette County Court for allegedly shaking his infant daughter violently last Feb. 6.
State police alleged that Robert Lee Bonzo of 306 Village of Searights shook 4-month-old Kaitlin Bonzo so hard she had brain hemorrhages.
Bonzo faces charges of aggravated and simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment.
He was charged after allegedly confessing to shaking the infant to state police in the latter part of January 2002.
The child’s babysitter took her to the hospital on Jan. 31, 2002, in part because the child was throwing up and her condition worsened throughout the day. The child was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh where doctors determined she suffered from Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Bonzo, according to court records, told state police that he repeatedly shook his daughter to quiet her crying.
Testimony will pick up this morning before Judge John F. Wagner Jr.
Bonzo is represented by Assistant Public Defender David Kaiser. First Administrative Assistant District Attorney John A. Kopas III and Assistant District Attorney Denise Simon are prosecuting the case.
Trial gets under way
The trial for Robert Eugene Sapp, 24, of Point Marion began Monday in Fayette County Court.
Sapp, of 209 S. Water St., allegedly had sex with a 2-year-old last July 30, injuring the child.
He is charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and aggravated assault.
State police allege Sapp was babysitting the girl and other children and abused her around 3 a.m. while the other children slept. When Sapp’s wife and another woman arrived at the home around 3:45 a.m., the 2-year-old would not stop crying and the Sapps took the toddler to the hospital.
A doctor there found that the girl suffered internal tears and said the injuries were consistent with sexual assault. The child underwent surgery at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Tests concluded that the toddler’s skin cells were on a semen stain on Sapp’s underwear, said police.
Police said they interviewed Sapp three times, but he never explained how the girl was injured.
Before the start of Sapp’s trial, several jurors were precluded from service in the case when they told Judge Gerald R. Solomon that they would be unable to hear the details of the case without prejudice to Sapp.
First Trial Assistant Joseph George Jr. is prosecuting the case. Assistant Public Defender Susan Ritz Harper is representing Sapp.
Testimony will pick up this morning.
Rape trial begins
The trial for a Scottdale man accused of raping a girl over a six-year period started Monday in Fayette County Court.
William D. Price, 39, of 114 Broad Street is charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
According to court records, the alleged victim, now 16, told police that Price repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped her from May 1995 through December 2001 at his former Upper Tyrone Township residence.
From age 11 until December 2001, the girl told police that the assaults occurred anywhere between two and three times a week. The teen told police that between December 1998 and December 2001, she had four abortions to terminate pregnancies in which Price was the father of the child.
The trial will pick up this morning before Judge Ralph C. Warman. Assistant District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. is prosecuting the case. Price is represented by Assistant Public Defender Mary Campbell Spegar.