A Forest City man accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman last fall will face further action in Lackawanna County Court after a preliminary hearing Monday.
Magisterial District Judge Sean McGraw ruled there was enough evidence to hold Raymond Lee Jones, 50, of 405 Main St., for trial on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with an unconscious person, harassment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
The victim testified at the hearing Mr. Jones was visiting her home Oct. 14 when she accepted his offer to make her coffee, which she drank. The next thing she remembered, she said, was waking in her bed with Mr. Jones' penis in her mouth.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.
After Mr. Jones left, the woman called 911, although she testified she could not remember when the investigating state trooper arrived.
"I was out of it because of whatever he put into my drink, my coffee," she said.
Under cross-examination by assistant public defender Jamie Dench, the woman acknowledged she and Mr. Jones engaged in consensual sex on prior occasions but said it was a long time in the past.
"Do you remember how long?" the attorney asked.
"A long time," she repeated.
She denied that she consented to have oral sex with Mr. Jones on the day he visited.
A second witness, Trooper Peter Matyjevich, said the woman's testimony was consistent with what he told her at her house after the incident.
Asked if the victim was under the influence, Trooper Matyjevich said he was not sure "if she was under the influence or just tired." However, she did not smell of alcohol, he said.
Mr. Jones, who was arrested Jan. 5, remained in the county prison on $10,000 bail.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com