Convicted rapist sees sentence reduced

NORRISTOWN » A 25-year-old Philadelphia man saw his sentence reduced after he asked a judge to reconsider his punishment for raping an intoxicated, unconscious woman during a gathering of young people at a New Year’s Eve party at a Norristown residence.

Taylor Alfred Rossi, of the 9700 block of Susan Road, Philadelphia, was re-sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three to six years in a state correctional facility on charges of rape of an unconscious person, indecent

assault of an unconscious person and sexual assault in connection with the Jan. 1, 2017, incident at a home in the 600 block of Sandy Street in Norristown.

Judge Richard P. Haaz also ordered Rossi to complete seven years of probation following parole, meaning Rossi will be under court supervision for 13 years.

In May, Haaz originally sentenced Rossi to four to eight years in prison and six years’ probation for a total of 14 years of supervision.

But following the May hearing, Rossi, through his lawyer Louis R. Busico, requested a reconsideration of the sentence, suggesting it was “unduly harsh and disproportionately punitive given the underlying facts of Mr. Rossi’s conviction.” Busico argued the judge did not give proper weight to Rossi’s young age and “the underlying facts and circumstances concerning the environment in which his crimes were committed.”

Busico implied that “environment” included immaturity and the inability to properly use alcoholic beverages. At trial, Busico argued “there was a ton of alcohol and people were drinking to the point they were blacking out.”

Busico sought a reduced sentence of two to four years imprisonment for Rossi.

Assistant District Attorney Brianna Ringwood opposed any reduction in Rossi’s sentence, arguing it would be “unjust,” and asked the judge to keep the original sentence intact. Ringwood argued there was no new evidence or arguments submitted by the defense that had not already been considered and weighed by the judge.

“It is utterly offensive to say that alcohol misuse and immaturity caused these crimes and to portray the defendant as someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Ringwood wrote in court papers. “It is he who is solely responsible for the crimes he committed and there are no circumstances that provoked, excused or justified his conduct in violating (the victim).”

A jury of nine women and three men convicted Rossi of the charges during a trial in February.

Prosecutors sought state prison time against Rossi. During the trial, prosecutors argued the incident “demonstrated a serious violation of a victim at a time when she should have been protected, when she was most vulnerable.”

The victim and Rossi each testified for the jury.

The victim testified that after a night of drinking she awoke in a bedroom at the Norristown home to Rossi raping her. Rossi testified he had consensual intimate contact with the woman but he denied that intercourse occurred.

At trial, Busico argued Rossi did not sexually assault the woman and suggested the contact was consensual.

The investigation began on Jan. 1 when the woman went to the Norristown Police Department to report she was raped in the early morning hours when she attended a New Year’s Eve party at her friend’s Sandy Street home.

“(The woman) said she had consumed alcohol and celebrated the evening. (The woman) said she eventually passed out in a bedroom after consuming too much,” former Norristown Detective Kathleen Kelly, now a county detective, alleged in a criminal complaint.

The woman told detectives she “never gave Rossi consent to have sex with her because she was unable to do so,” according to the criminal complaint.

Testimony revealed Rossi had attended the party with his girlfriend, who was in another area of