Man guilty of assault in WCU rape case

Jury finds Austin Eaddy guilty of attempted rape, indecent assault

WEST CHESTER » A Common Pleas Court jury has convicted a former West Chester University student of sexually assaulting a fellow student in a campus parking garage, an incident that was interrupted by another woman who chased the assailant away.

The panel of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours into late Friday evening before returning to Judge David Bortner’s courtroom before 11 p.m. with its verdict. The jury found Austin Eaddy guilty of attempted rape by forcible compul-

sion and attempted rape by threat of forcible compulsion, both first-degree felonies, as well as indecent assault without consent, a misdemeanor.

Bortner revoked Eaddy’s bail and had him taken from the courtroom to Chester County Prison to await sentencing. Eaddy had taken the stand Friday to deny that he had tried to force himself on the woman, and to insist that the sexual contact that occurred between them in the New Street Parking Garage was consensual.

He will be sentenced later this summer.

Assistant District Attorneys Brian Burack and Caitlin Rice, who prosecuted the case together, declined to comment after the verdict. Defense counsel Philip Press of Norristown, who represented Eaddy, could not be reached for comment.

However, a spokeswoman for the university expressed gratification for the verdict, and praised the woman student who broke up the incident when she happened on it in the early morning hours of April 1, 2016.

“Our deepest concern is for the victim of this criminal act who courageously stepped forward to take legal action and seek justice,” said Nancy Santos Gainer, WCU executive director of communications. “We hope that the verdict helps to put an end to a tragic situation. West Chester University is committed to an academic environment where students feel safe.”

“The university applauds the actions of one of its students who took action as a bystander and interrupted the assault,” she said. “This action was then followed by a powerful testimony from the bystander. All members of West Chester University are sending a very clear message that violence will absolutely not be tolerated. Everyone is committed to doing their part.”

The trial featured not only the victim’s poignant testimony about the events of that evening and the eyewitness’s version of the events she saw unfolding, but also video surveillance footage of Eaddy and the woman, whose name is being withheld by the Daily Local News because of the nature of the case, as they walked across campus and into the parking garage around 2:30 a.m. that morning.

The pair apparently did not know one another before that day, and the woman testified that she was heavily intoxicated at the time and did not remember meeting Eaddy or going with him to the garage. She had been drinking at a fraternity party off campus, and only recalls becoming conscious of what was happening to her when Eaddy was forcing himself on her.

The eyewitness told police at the time that after she walked into the second floor of the garage and saw a man on top of a woman who was lying prone on a car hood, she told herself that she “had just witnessed a rape.”

In pre-trial motions and hearings, Press had tried to convince Bortner to allow him to question the eyewitness about her own past history with sexual violence. She had reported herself as a victim of a sexual assault prior to the events of April 1, and Press contended that he should be allowed to question whether her own experiences had colored her perception of what was happening. He also wanted to know whether she had somehow influenced the woman’s version of events and led to her accusing Eaddy of forcing himself on her.

Even though video footage from a surveillance camera in the parking garage shows Eaddy and the woman embracing and kissing for several moments, the actual incident was not captured visibly on camera. The woman said she did not want to have sex with Eaddy and had told him to stop.

It was a novel defense, noted Bortner. There appears to be no case law available showing the relevance of a possible bias on the part of an eyewitness “due to being a prior victim of a crime, not to mention the same crime as the accused.” Agreeing with the prosecution team that sought to bar Press from asking about the alleged prior assault, Bortner ruled that such a line of questioning would be prohibited.

Eaddy, 24, of Philadelphia, was a WCU student living in the campus dormitories at the time of the alleged assault. He had been charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault and related charges.

According to the criminal complaint, police were able to identify Eaddy as a suspect in the case through a video surveillance tape that had been shot from the second floor. Eaddy was recognized by a residential director at one of the campus dorms. He was arrested about four days after the incident.