State College man gets state prison time for attempted strangulation of woman at motel
A State College man was sentenced Tuesday to at least 18 months in state prison for the attempted strangulation of a woman at an area motel.
Robert C. Wason, 39, was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine to a maximum of four years in prison. He received credit for about six months served in the Centre County Correctional Facility.
Neither the woman nor Centre County Assistant District Attorney Julia Lockman offered a statement before he was sentenced.
Wason asked he be allowed to serve his sentence in county jail instead of state prison, which Grine rejected because it was not part of the plea agreement. Centre County Deputy Public Defender Patrick Klena declined comment after the hearing.
Wason was arrested by Ferguson Township police in September on charges he raped, strangled and robbed the woman at a motel along Cato Avenue. She told investigators she met Wason through an online advertisement for bachelor parties and private dances.
When they arrived at the motel, the woman told police Wason falsely claimed to be a police officer, handcuffed her to a bed, raped and attempted to suffocate her with a pillow.
She freed one hand and punched Wason before leaving the room and yelling for help, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. She had red marks and swelling around her wrists that police said were consistent with her description of being restrained.
After he was identified as a suspect, police said Wason texted a detective to “clear things up.” He said he paid her for the motel room and the two had consensual sexual intercourse.
Wason said he took the money back after the woman allegedly snorted drugs, police wrote. He alleged she “flipped out” and began hitting and biting him. He said he put the pillow over her face because he “didn’t want to bother the people around them,” police wrote.
He also denied using handcuffs or claiming he was a police officer, but police said they found handcuffs, condoms and a motel receipt in his vehicle.
Wason pleaded guilty in March to a felony count of attempted strangulation. Five charges, including felony counts of rape and sexual assault, were dropped. Three other charges were dismissed by a judge at his preliminary hearing in October.