By Matt Snyder
GREENVILLE, FREDONIA — Testimony concluded Wednesday in the trial of a Lackawannock Township man accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl in 2000 at homes in Fredonia and Greenville.
Heath E. Glaser, 40, faces charges of aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, and indecent assault for allegedly fondling and molesting the girl twice that year.
The trial was made difficult by the 10-year time span between the alleged crimes and trial, fogging the memories of Glaser’s accuser and those who testified on Glaser’s behalf.
Even scars from the self-inflicted cuts the accuser, who is now 19, described making on her arms, legs, and stomach due to the pain of her alleged abuse had faded, and the jury leaned over to peer closely as she walked past the box, baring first her forearms, and later her shoulders.
Attorneys described the markings – which couldn’t be seen clearly from a distance – as faint and relatively few in number, with more in the shoulder area and fewer at the forearms.
Under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Miles K. Karson Jr. the woman said Glaser slid onto a sofa she slept on and molested her, including once in a room where two others and a baby were sleeping on the floor nearby.
She said she wore a hooded sweatshirt and long pants most of the time, even in summer, to hide the cuts she inflicted on herself from the ages of 10 through 15, when the cutting was noticed.
The cuts were never deep, she said, and after she revealed the alleged abuse, she immediately felt better and stopped doing it.
Defense attorney Angelo Papa asked pointed questions, working toward the argument that the woman told a story about Glaser abusing her to duck out of responsibility for her cutting.
He tried to cast doubt on how long or often she had cut herself, and tried to punch holes in her story in other ways.
Papa suggested it would have been difficult for Glaser to get behind her on a sofa without initially waking her up, that it was odd for her to go five years without telling anyone, and that rather than being afraid of Glaser, she had competed for his attention.
Many incidents of sexual abuse reported in Mercer County come years after the fact, though the majority of defendants plead to lesser charges before going to trial.
Papa’s questioning lead the woman to break down in tears at one point, and Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. St. John called a recess.
Karson and Papa both had to deal with the difficulties of a decade-old allegation, which creates a handicap for both sides trying to make their case, Karson said.
Papa said they were also hindered by the lack of details. The woman didn’t know exactly what time the alleged abuse occurred, and Papa said that keeps Glaser from being able to nail down an alibi.
Moreover, a year and a half passed between the initial allegations of the abuse and charges being filed, and in that time, documents from Children and Youth Services and Behavioral Health Commission that could possibly have helped pin down a date for the alleged crime or help the defense were destroyed, Papa said.
Karson said those were administrative documents, and may have never helped the defense at all.
Also testifying Wednesday were Glaser’s mother and daughter, who were both acquainted with Glaser’s accuser.
They both testified she didn’t appear frightened by him. Glaser’s mother, though, admitted that during get-togethers she was often busy hosting.
The woman said she felt she had to “put on a front” that everything was fine when she was with Glaser, because she was acquainted with him. She said that sometimes she would fake illness to try to avoid him, but not always.
The jury is expected to hear closing arguments, receive instructions, and deliberate today.
It is Herald policy not to name the alleged victims of sexual assault.
