Judge denies motion to dismiss sex assault charges
A Fayette County judge denied a request to dismiss two aggravated indecent assault charges against a Lemont Furnace man accused of molesting two young girls last year.
Joseph Trifiro, 27, also faces two charges of indecent assault for allegedly assaulting the girls, now ages 5 and 7, in September 2011.
The girls did not have to testify at Wednesday’s proceedings because they were deemed unavailable under the “tender years” exception, which allows others to testify about the alleged sex acts instead of the children.
That statute holds that an alleged child victim of either physical or sexual contact who is 12 or younger can be deemed unavailable to testify in a court proceeding if they are found to be under emotional distress, a determination Judge Steve P. Leskinen made after hearing testimony from the girls’ foster mother and state police Trooper Heather L. Clem, who filed the charges against Trifiro.
The girls’ foster mother testified that at the March preliminary hearing, and when they came to court Wednesday, both were nervous and afraid to see Trifiro. The younger of the two girls, the woman testified, urinated in the hallway when she saw Trifiro being led into Leskinen’s courtroom. The other girl “cowered” behind her, the woman testified. Assistant District Attorney Linda Cordaro, who prosecutes child abuse cases, said the “tender years” exception is used frequently in an effort to keep from traumatizing children who are alleged victims.
Clem testified she initially talked to the children on Sept. 28, 2011, at the Uniontown police station, and both were reluctant to talk about what allegedly occurred. At Trifiro’s preliminary hearing, Clem testified, the girls were allowed to testify while sitting on her lap, but had difficulty talking about what allegedly occurred.
Assistant Public Defender David Kaiser argued that there was no evidence to support the aggravated indecent assault charges, but Leskinen rejected the request. The jurist found that evidence presented about what the girls’ said during their Oct. 3, 2011, interviews at A Child’s Place At Mercy in Irwin supported those charges.