Westmoreland County judge suspends probation for man in Seton Hill University sex assault case
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday stayed the two-year probation sentence he handed down to a California man convicted of improper sexual contact with a Seton Hill University student.
That will allow attorneys on the case of former medical student Jerry Chai, 27, and Judge Chris Scherer time to sort out the defense's contention that a juror used personal knowledge as part of the deliberations.
Attorney Matthew Ness requested the temporary suspension of the sentence so Chai doesn't have to register as a sex offender under Megan's Law in the event the conviction is overturned.
“Once he's on that list, given the perpetuity of the internet, once it's there, it's there,” Ness argued.
In June, Chai was acquitted of the three most serious offenses against him related to a September 2014 incident at his off-campus apartment. His accuser, then 18, contended he attempted to force himself on her but said she was not raped.
He was found guilty of an indecent assault count.
Chai testified that the accuser initially was the aggressor and consented to some sexual activity and that he complied when she later asked him to stop. At the time, he was a first-year medical student at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill.
Scherer sentenced Chai Monday and immediately heard testimony on the defense's post-sentence motion that jurors wrongly convicted him after a member of the panel said she worked with rape victims and thought the accuser was being truthful.
Juror Cody Fullerton, 23, of Sewickley Township was one of three jurors to contact defense attorneys after the trial about Juror 10.
“She worked with rape victims and knew how they react if they're a victim, and she saw that in the victim and figured that ... he had done it,” Fullerton testified during the appeal hearing.
Scherer gave attorneys several months to file briefs outlining their arguments on the post-sentence motions.
Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta.
