NJ man accused of rape at Penn State frat party gets probation, felony charges dropped
A New Jersey man who was accused of raping a woman during a 2019 party at a Penn State fraternity — but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge — was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation.
Benjamin M. Flynn, 22, pleaded guilty in August to one misdemeanor count of simple assault. One felony count each of rape and sexual assault were dropped.
Centre County Assistant District Attorney Megan McGoron said the woman who lodged the allegations OK’d the agreement. McGoron also said an evaluation found Flynn is not likely to re-offend.
He had been accused of raping the woman in November 2019 at Phi Kappa Sigma, 234 E. Beaver Ave. The woman told Flynn several times that she did not want to have intercourse, a State College police detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Flynn said little during the hearing, only thanking Centre County Judge Jonathan Grine for allowing him to be sentenced via Zoom.