Rape trial notes injuries suffered by alleged victim, questions investigation

The question of consent was posed to a Centre County jury Monday as the trial of a Harrisburg man accused of rape began at the county courthouse.

Anthony Holmes, 26, was charged with felony counts of rape and sexual assault in July 2016 after an alleged incident dating to Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts weekend. At that time, police had reported to an apartment along East Beaver Avenue for a reported rape, taking a woman to Mount Nittany Medical Center for treatment.

The woman reported to police that she had been assaulted by a black male, the affidavit said. The man reportedly called her phone afterward, leading police to trace the number to Holmes.

Holmes’s DNA was matched in June 2016 to a rape kit swab taken after the alleged assault, police said.

District Attorney Bernie Cantorna began the opening arguments Monday, leading the jury through what had reportedly happened that evening. According to Cantorna, the woman met Holmes at a downtown State College bar, and he took her to a secluded location where the incident occurred.

Afterward, he said, Holmes drove the woman back downtown where she asked to be dropped off near a friend’s apartment. The woman then climbed a brick lattice outside the apartment in order to enter through a balcony door, and police were called later.

Holmes’s attorney, Bryan Walk, told the jury that his client had met the woman at a downtown bar and the two had “hit it off,” noting there had been drinking and flirtation. They left together, he said, found a place to have sex, during which there had not been any fighting or arguing.

They then drove around State College for about three hours, he said, looking for Holmes’s cousin. He later dropped the woman off without incident.

The jury spent the morning hearing testimony from a former State College resident with whom the woman had been staying that weekend. The resident testified that the woman had come home that evening disheveled and in “absolute hysterics.” She said she had called the police soon afterward.

State College police Officer Martin Haynes testified to meeting the woman at the apartment and taking her to Mount Nittany Medical Center. In cross-examination, Walk repeatedly questioned why the officer had not attempted to pull surveillance footage from downtown cameras or from the cameras at the apartment building itself, noting that anyone could enter the building and ride the elevators to any floor and that climbing up an exterior wall was not needed to get into the building.

Further testimony came from emergency room staff, along with numerous photographs shown to the jury detailing the various scrapes, bruises and abrasions found on the woman the day she was examined. Testimony also noted that she had suffered a fractured nasal bone.

The later part of the afternoon was largely spent in cross-examination, as Walk spoke with State College police Detective John Aston. Walk grilled Aston on his police report, noting several times where the detective reportedly received information from the woman and witnesses, but had failed to include it in his report.

Walk also asked the detective about the woman’s report that she climbed up to the balcony of her friend’s apartment, claiming that her injuries could have been sustained in a fall. The attorney noted that it was “odd” that his client, who was reportedly not familiar with the State College area, was able to find a location secluded enough to have intercourse without being directed to the spot.

The trial is expected to wrap up after further cross-examination Tuesday.

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Rape trial notes injuries suffered by alleged victim, questions investigation."