A Blakely man accused of raping his former girlfriend accepted a last-minute guilty plea deal Wednesday, after hours of behind-the-scenes negotiations that kept a jury waiting on the sidelines as his scheduled trial was to begin.
Michael Bonita, 43, of 621 Main St., pleaded guilty to one felony charge of aggravated indecent assault without consent. He faces up to six years in state prison as part of his plea agreement. He originally faced a maximum of 92 years in prison on the eight charges, including rape and sexual assault, brought by borough police in November 2011.
"Taking a case, like a sex case, to a jury is unpredictable," said Joe D'Andrea, Mr. Bonita's attorney. "The nature of the offenses, the graphic nature ... have a very huge impact on the emotions of a jury. Rape cases are crimes that pull passion out of everybody ... most importantly, the jurors that hear the case."
According to police, Mr. Bonita forced his girlfriend at the time to perform oral sex on him, threw her on a bed and violently raped her after she began packing her belongings in an attempt to move out of their home.
During the assault, Mr. Bonita told her she was going to be his "sex whore" and that he would "hunt her down" and kill her if she left him, police said.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.
At some point, he allowed her to use the bathroom, which gave her an opening to grab her car keys and run out of the home wearing only a shirt and a towel.
On Wednesday, while jurors stayed sequestered, county prosecutors offered Mr. Bonita the chance to avoid trial by pleading guilty to the one felony charge, and, as part of the plea deal, they will ask Lackawanna County Judge Vito P. Geroulo to sentence him to three to six years in state prison. He must also register as a sex offender for life.
The seven other charges - rape by forcible compulsion, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, indecent assault, unlawful restraint, and simple assault - were withdrawn.
Deputy District Attorney Gene Riccardo said a guilty plea was a much more desirable outcome than the victim having to take the stand to testify.
"She doesn't have to relive this horrible event in front of 12 strangers," Mr. Riccardo said.
Prosecutors were anticipating seven witnesses testifying, and the trial was expected to last two or three days.
Dressed in a black suit jacket and dress pants, Mr. Bonita said little other than "yes, your honor" several times in response to questions from the judge about his guilty plea.
He was immediately remanded to county prison until sentencing. A sentencing date was not announced.
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