Court briefs
Man convicted An Elizabeth man was convicted of two sex-related crimes Tuesday in Fayette County Court
Scott Nelson, 20, of 5660 Ella Hollow Road was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault after a jury trial.
Nelson, state police charged, abused a girl who at the time was 5 years old between May and September 2003 at a home in Fayette City, Washington Township. Nelson, according to court records, was baby-sitting the child.
The girl, now 7, told her mother, who went to police, according to court documents. The Herald-Standard does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse.
Nelson will be sentenced in January before Judge Ralph C. Warman and must undergo a sexual offender assessment. That assessment will determine if he is a sexually violent predator under Megan’s Law.
If a psychiatrist makes that determination and the judge agrees, he can impose a variety conditions after Nelson is released from prison, including community notification that a sexually violent predator is living nearby.
Guilty verdict
A Philadelphia man was convicted Tuesday of stealing an acquaintance’s vehicle from a North Union Township gas station.
Robert Jermaine Bailey, 33, of 3053 Bonsel St., was convicted of theft by unlawful taking. State police said Bailey stole Rick Clifford Fowler’s 1994 Chevrolet Blazer when Fowler went inside the Route 51 Exxon to buy tobacco.
Police said Fowler let Bailey drive his sport utility vehicle to the gas station on April 6. Fowler was a passenger in the vehicle.
Fowler, according to court documents, told police he did not give Bailey permission to take the Blazer.
Judge Steve P. Leskinen will sentence Bailey at a later date.
Man faces trial
A Dunbar man accused of sexually abused a now 6-year-old girl during a two-year period was in Fayette County Court Wednesday to face trial.
Anthony Hess, 36, of 109 Lark Lane, allegedly started abusing the child at a Dunbar Township residence on Jan. 1, 2003, when the alleged victim was just younger than 3 years old, according to state police. The abuse continued until March 13, 2005, authorities allege.
The girl told her mother, according to court documents, and her mother reported the alleged abuses to the county’s Children and Youth Services. The child welfare agency, in turn, contacted police, according to court papers.
Police charged Hess with rape, rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault.
His trial will continue today before Judge Ralph C. Warman.
Case under way
The criminal trial for a 20-year-old Uniontown man accused of sexually abusing two girls, ages 4 and 6, started Wednesday in Fayette County Court.
Uniontown police charged Montel Fairfax of 45 Christmas St. with two counts each of rape, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault, indecent assault and corruption of a minor.
Authorities alleged he molested the girls on multiple occasions between January and August 2004. Court records indicate that Fairfax watched the two girls, who eventually told an adult what was happening.
The alleged abuses occurred at a home on Lenox Street in Uniontown, according to court records.
The trial will resume this morning before Judge John F. Wagner Jr.