Cranberry musician cleared of rape moves on with life

A Cranberry musician said on Friday that he is pleased to be moving on with his life since an Allegheny County jury cleared him of rape charges.

“It's a terrible thing to be accused of,” Dalton Dezarn-Meinert, 21, said. “For people to know I'm not that type of person, it just felt good.”

The jury before Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel on Sept. 3 acquitted Dezarn-Meinert of charges of rape, sexual assault and related offenses.

Pittsburgh police arrested Dezarn-Meinert in January and accused him of raping a woman in an alley behind a house on Atwood Street in Oakland after a New Year's Eve party.

“It's taken everything away from me,” Dezarn-Meinert said. “I lost friends, family. People don't talk to me anymore.”

Dezarn-Meinert said he remained focused on music and continues to perform hip-hop under the stage name “Diesel.”

“I've done nothing but try to continue my career and not let this affect me as a musician,” Dezarn-Meinert said.

Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, declined to comment. Dezarn-Meinert's attorney, Charles Porter, did not return a message seeking comment.

Margaret Harding is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.