EMPORIUM (EC) — Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the alleged rape of a minor that occurred in the Emporium Borough last week.
A search warrant was obtained through Magisterial District Judge Barry Brown’s office in Emporium following reports of a rape made by a known 15-year-old juvenile female. The assaulted is alleged to have occurred in the downstairs apartment located at 14 East Fourth Street.
The warrant was issued to search for “any and all items which may have collected bodily fluids…, human hairs from the victim and/or suspect… (and) any and all items suspected to be illegal narcotics and paraphernalia,” the court document read.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed with the warrant, the juvenile female reported to police that on April 22 she went to the apartment to visit friends, and she alleged that the suspect, Norman Francis Pettit II, introduced himself to her while they were smoking marijuana, using only his first and last name.
Later in the night, the juvenile female went to bed, intending to sleep alone on a futon in a separate bedroom. She alleged that at an unknown time in the night, Pettit came into the room, laid on the futon and began touching her, the court records read.
She stated that she asked him to stop, but he removed her sweatshirt, shirt and bra, then forced himself upon her. He continued, removing his pants and forcing himself on her again while holding her down by the throat, according to the affidavit. The affidavit indicated that marks were still visible on the victim’s neck during the interview two days later.
From the search, police confiscated a red bedsheet from the bedroom, a stained piece of mattress, blankets from the bedroom, blankets from the living room area and an HTC cell phone and charger cable, according to court records.
Formal charges have not been filed against Pettit, who was arrested recently on an outstanding probation warrant.
The warrant application indicates that “based on the above information, there is probable cause to believe that the victim was forcibly raped by the suspect.”
