Donegal Township man acquitted of sexual assault charges
A Donegal Township man was acquitted by a jury Tuesday of all six charges that alleged he sexually assaulted a minor, which he was accused of in November 2017.
Kemp Whisner, 72, of Carman Drive, West Alexander, had been charged by Donegal Township police with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, and indecent assault of a child.
According to court documents, Whisner had been accused of having inappropriate contact with a girl less than 13 years old between 2010 and 2017. He had been out of jail on a $100,000 unsecured bond.
Following Whisner’s recent jury trial, he was found not guilty of all charges. The verdict was filed Tuesday, according to court documents.
Whisner’s attorney, Jack Puskar, said he didn’t call any witnesses during the trial.
“The defendant has always maintained his innocence,” Puskar said. “The commonwealth’s evidence was insufficient to support the charges.”
Puskar said the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in how long disposal of the case took, from when charges were filed in 2017 to the trial date.
“We were scheduled to begin trial on March 16, 2020,” he said. “With COVID, everything just got derailed.”