Aug 4, 2018 3 min read

STAR JUNCTION – The prosecution filed additional assault counts during a tense afternoon in district court Thursday against a California Borough man who was accused of raping a woman last month.

The suspect, Michael Christopher Brown, nearly found himself being arrested again after he allegedly made an obscene gesture at a woman, sending police officers from several departments into the waiting room at the office of District Judge Richard Kasunic.

Police chose to separate Brown from the victim and her supporters, one of whom was the mother of another woman who accused him of raping her near Philadelphia in December 2014.

The victim in the 2014 case killed herself before Brown’s case was tried in Chester County Court of Common Pleas, said her mother, Liz Erickson, who now lives in North Carolina. As a result, the district attorney’s office in Chester chose not to prosecute Brown on a string of charges, including rape, online court records show.

Kasunic, during Brown’s preliminary hearing Thursday, remanded all charges in the second rape case against Brown to the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas.

The 22-year-old victim offered teary testimony, saying she woke up to find Brown in her bedroom in Washington Township about 4:45 a.m. July 1.

“I was confused and said, ‘You’re not supposed to be here,'” the woman testified.

She said she cried, refused his advances and told him to leave.

“I tried to wriggle free, fight him off and threw a couple of punches,” she said.

She accused Brown of using one of his arms to choke her to the point where she couldn’t breathe and passed out.

Her father then stormed out of court, slamming the door behind him, when she further testified about the encounter with Brown.

The victim said she had cut off a relationship with Brown because of his behavior. She said he slammed on the brakes of a vehicle once, forcing her into the dashboard, injuring her ribs.

Brown, 23, of 208 Second St., attended California University of Pennsylvania for a time. He has not been enrolled in classes since 2016, a university spokeswoman said.

Erickson said she didn’t attend the hearing to show support for anyone. The victim’s father said his family appreciated the fact Erickson was there.

“We came because we wanted (Brown) to know his history is not going away,” Erickson said.

Erickson said police had earlier taken Brown out of the waiting room after he made the obscene gesture to her.

Brown was released Wednesday from Fayette County jail after posting his $50,000 bond.

Assistant Fayette District Attorney Christina A. DeMarco-Breeden asked twice for Kasunic to increase Brown’s bond to $100,000 to no avail.

She said a condition of his release requires him to report to a pretrial assessment that could result in him being required to wear an ankle monitor.

His public defender, Jeff Whiteko, did not object to DeMarco-Breeden adding charges against Brown of simple assault, indecent assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

In addition to rape, Brown also was charged with sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, strangulation, indecent assault and burglary.