Two found not guilty in rape case
Two men accused of jointly raping a woman were found not guilty of all charges Tuesday in Fayette County Court. It took jurors less than 30 minutes to make the determination.
Both Christopher Robinson and Andrew Keefer were accused by a 26-year-old woman who told jurors that she feel asleep last Jan. 9 and woke up to the men jointly assaulting her. The men testified as well, and painted a different picture of the evening that included the alleged victim as consenting to the sex.
In questions throughout the trial, defense attorney Dianne Zerega stressed other allegations the alleged victim made about Robinson and Keefer at the workplace. She also repeatedly questioned why the woman waited three months to report the alleged assault to police when she saw Robinson and Keefer regularly during that period.
The woman testified she was afraid to come forward.
The verdict came after a full day of testimony Monday, but a week after the county’s regular criminal court term. Court officials had the trial this week because the case was so close to expiration. Jurors for the trial were picked from a panel slated to serve as jurors on civil cases.
However, when all of the civil cases fell through, the criminal jury was the only one picked.