Testimony begins in trial of Fairchance man accused of rape
The prosecution presented its case in Fayette County Court on Monday against a Fairchance man on trial for allegedly raping two children, now adults, who both gave graphic accounts of the alleged abuse they suffered over a decade ago.
Richard Mayfield, 49, faces charges of rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault for sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated against a woman who is now 30 years old.
He is also being tried for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault and indecent assault for sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated against a man with mental disabilities who is now 20 years old.
The Herald-Standard does not identify those who allege they are victims of sexual crimes.
The female witness said she was about 14 years old when the alleged abuse began. She told a jury of six men and six women that at first, Mayfield took her places and bought her things.
Eventually, she said, he began to touch her inappropriately, and she told him no. The touching turned into sex, she testified. The woman told the jury the encounters often took place in his truck.
“I was scared if I told anyone, I would be sent back to foster care,” the woman told the court.
The alleged abuse continued for two years, she said. During the encounters, she said she would put her mind somewhere else so she didn’t have to confront what was happening.
“As sick as it sounds, I began to think maybe this was normal,” she testified.
The woman explained that at age 16, she left the area, because she wanted to escape what had been happening.
Assistant District Attorney Anthony S. Iannamorelli Jr. asked the woman why she waited so many years to come forward.
“I was embarrassed and ashamed and I didn’t want to face it,” the woman said, as she wiped away tears.
Her siblings convinced her to go to police, she said. “My brother told me, ‘You could be saving another child from the trauma you went through,'” she testified.
Mayfield’s attorney, Brent Peck, asked the woman when she saw the defendant last, and she said they encountered each other at a funeral. Peck asked her if she went to the funeral home in short cut-off shorts, to which she replied no as Iannamorelli attempted to object to the question.
Peck also asked her if Mayfield spoke to her at the funeral about the appropriateness of her clothes, to which she also replied no as Iannamorelli objected.
The male witness also took the stand to describe encounters he allegedly had with Mayfield, between the time he was around 5 to 8 years old.
The man said Mayfield would invite him to play video games, but shortly after beginning to play, Mayfield would ask him to perform oral sex. The man said he did as Mayfield allegedly asked, because he “didn’t know any better”.
He also testified that Mayfield had anal intercourse with him several times, often taking him out for a ride in his truck and coercing him to get in back for the alleged encounters.
When Iannamorelli asked the man to point out the man who sexually abused him, he pointed toward Mayfield without looking, saying he didn’t want to see him.
On cross-examination, Peck asked the man several questions about whether he was coached as to what he should say on the stand, either by his family or by prosecutors.
The man said Iannamorelli only gave him one instruction, which was, “Just tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.”
The prosecution rested its case Monday afternoon. The defense will present its side in President Judge John F. Wagner Jr.’s courtroom beginning at 9 a.m.