Testimony starts for Chester man in rape of teen

‘If you tell anyone, I will hurt you and

your family,’ he allegedly told victim

A 17-year-old testified Wednesday that a Chester man bound her arms behind her back, put tape over her mouth and raped her in 2018 when she was just 13 years old.

“It was painful and I didn’t understand what was happening at the time,” the girl told Assistant District Attorney Danielle Gallaher during a trial before Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Scanlon.

Jose Santiago, 24, is facing charges including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault for allegedly creeping into the girl’s bed in the summer of 2018 and forcing himself on her.

The girl said the assault happened when she was sleeping away from home and Santiago offered her a glass of water. She became dizzy after drinking the water and went to lie down in a bedroom, she said.

“Next thing I know, I feel someone on top of me,” she said. “I heard someone saying, ‘If you tell anyone, I will hurt you and your family.’ ”

The girl said she was unable to see because she did not have her glasses on, but recognized Santiago’s voice and smelled him because he was the only smoker in the house.

The alleged victim said Santiago caused pain that was 10 out of 10 on a pain scale. When she told him it hurt, she said he flipped her over and used tape to bind her hands and cover her mouth, and the assault continued.

She said Santiago did not say anything when he was finished, but took the tape off and left the room. The girl then used the bathroom to try to urinate and relieve the pain she still felt, and said she could see his ponytail going down the stairs.

The alleged victim said she did not tell anyone what happened at first, but wrote about it in her journal the following night and made other references to the rape in subsequent entries. One page had been folded to keep her secret, the girl said.

She said she had to lie to her mother, telling her nothing was wrong, and was afraid of the consequences disclosure might bring, especially with her father. Her mother eventually found the journal and confronted the alleged victim about the entries, then called the police.

Expert testimony

Dr. June Elcock-Messam, a child abuse pediatrics specialist, said she examined the child in March 2019 and found she had suffered a penetrating trauma to the hymen, as evidenced by a transection, or a healed defect.

The doctor said there were no findings of infections in the lab reports and no signs of scarring, fissures or other abnormalities, but said the girl did describe sometimes feeling pain.

On cross-examination by defense counsel Paige Benedetto, Elcock-Messam said the hymen can heal relatively quickly, after 10 days or so, and is flexible enough that it does not cause pain unless it is perforated.

Elcock-Messam said the damage to the hymen alone was not indicative of sexual abuse, but did match the medical history the girl provided about the alleged rape, which was consistent with her testimony Wednesday.

The girl said she does not go out much since the attack and now sleeps with glasses on. She said she is also careful of where she sleeps, and wears jeans rather than skirts or dresses. She said she wanted to testify about the alleged assault to help free herself.

The trial is expected to continue today.