Rape suspect found not guilty
SUNBURY - A Mount Carmel man on trial for a rape accusation was found not guilty of all charges.
Jonathan Michael Mazak, 31, was found not guilty of felony rape and sexual assault and misdemeanor indecent. A Northumberland County jury returned the verdict Thursday during a one day trial.
Mazak was accused of raping a 22-year-old Marion Heights woman while she slept in April 2012.
The jury consisted of nine men and three women. Judge Charles Saylor presided. Mazak was represented by attorney Timothy Reitz of the Malee Law Firm, Williamsport. Ann Targonski, first assistant district attorney, was the prosecutor.
Reached for comment Monday, Reitz said jury members recognized inconsistencies and contradictions in testimony from both the victim and the arresting officer, Mount Carmel Patrolman Jason Drumheller.
Specifically, Reitz said the victim was adamant that she was sober when she went to sleep about 6 a.m. April 22, 2012, at the home of her friend's parents in the 200 block of South Vine Street, Mount Carmel. But Reitz said she couldn't explain how she slept through someone removing her shirt, pants and underwear and initiating sexual intercourse.
"I think it was just a common sense defense," Reitz said. "It would have been hard for her to explain how (her clothes) possibly got off of her without her knowing.
"I think the jury picked up, more likely than not, that this was a consensual act that occurred," he said.
The victim told police she and others had been drinking alcohol following a cookout the night before, and she awoke while the intercourse was happening.