Woman charged with raping man

A Mt. Lebanon woman has been charged with sexually assaulting a man with mental disabilities at least a dozen times over the past two years.

Lisa Kelly, 54, said she allowed the 24-year-old man to make sexually suggestive comments toward her to “let him build his confidence,” according to an affidavit written by a Bethel Park police detective.

But their relationship became physical, investigators said, even though the man was “unable to understand and consent to making proper decisions.”

The relationship between Ms. Kelly and the man began sometime between 2011 and 2013 at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit LifeHouse in Dormont, where Ms. Kelly was his teacher, according to investigators.

The man’s father told police that he became aware of inappropriate communication between Ms. Kelly and his son. He said he reported the communication to the AIU, which terminated Ms. Kelly.

After graduating from LifeHouse, the man got a job with a housekeeping company and began working at South Hills Village. The man had worked at South Hills Village for a couple of years when, early this year, he came home with what appeared to be a “hickey/sucker bite” on his neck, the affidavit said. The man told his father he had brushed up against a kiosk while working, investigators said.

His father soon found out that Ms. Kelly had started maintaining plants at the mall and met her son on numerous occasions and would kiss him and touch him in a sexual manner, according to the affidavit.

Ms. Kelly spoke to investigators and admitted to having sexual contact with the man more than a dozen times since early 2016, the affidavit said.

Investigators said Ms. Kelly admitted to loving the man, but she knew he was mentally disabled. She described herself as “the safest space” for him.

A doctor who examined the man at the request of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office said it was his opinion “that, as a result of his significant cognitive impairment and limited insight, [the man] does not have the capacity to make informed decisions regarding engaging in sexual interactions.”

Ms. Kelly was charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses. She faces a preliminary hearing March 16 before District Judge Ronald A. Arnoni. She could not be reached for comment.