A Fayette County jury deliberated less than an hour Friday before acquitting a Uniontown man of rape after he and several others testified about the alleged crime at a Uniontown house party.

The woman, now 19, testified earlier this week against Harold Jones III, 21, of Uniontown in the trial before Judge Steve Leskinen.

In a criminal complaint filed by Uniontown police, the woman said she agreed to go for a ride with Jones on Aug. 12 and ended up at a Uniontown residence the morning of Aug. 13.

She said she and Jones argued at the home and he grabbed her cell phone and locked the key pad. She said she was going to walk to a nearby service station and call for a ride, but he grabbed her and butted her nose with his head.

She said he picked her up and carried her into the house, held her down and raped her. She said he had his hands around her neck.

When she attempted to walk away again, she said he picked her up again, told her she was not going anywhere and raped her a second time. She said she waited until he fell asleep to leave.

A woman who picked her up that morning said the girl had a black and blue mark across her nose and the woman said she had been fighting with Jones.

"She seemed upset, she looked like she had been crying," the woman said.

She did not tell her she had been assaulted or raped, the woman said.

Two men and two women attending the party testified that the girl appeared fine and they never heard her scream or ask for help.

Looking at photographs that showed injuries the woman claimed were inflicted by Jones, the witnesses denied noticing the injuries on Aug. 13.

Jones testified he dated the woman on and off for more than a year.

After a group of people went to a bar that evening, he asked her if she wanted to go home.

"She said no, she wanted to come with me for the night," Jones said.

At the party, he said, the group played games and consumed alcohol throughout the night.

The woman received a cell phone call from another man that angered Jones. He said he told her that he would not be involved with her if she was involved with anyone else.

He said they took a walk and talked and then returned to the house.

"Yes, we did have sex," but it was consensual, he said.

After arguing about her "not being truthful" with him, Jones said, they had sex again.

He denied harming the woman.

Assistant Public Defender Mary Campbell Spegar told the jury that no medical testimony was presented at trial. She said the woman never attempted to run to a neighbor or contact police and her testimony was not credible.

Assistant District Attorney Gene Grimm questioned the credibility of witnesses who attended the party.

"They are here because they are good friends with (Jones)," Grimm said.

He said they may not have noticed the woman's injuries because they had been drinking all night.

He said the photos fit with the testimony of the woman and the friend who picked her up that morning. As a matter of policy, the Tribune-Review does not identify victims of alleged sexual assaults.

Spegar said she hoped to have Jones released from prison yesterday.

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