Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough has recommended a new trial for Edwin Colon, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Plymouth following a non-jury trial in July 2022.
Colon, 32, was sentenced by Vough in November to 10 to 20 years in state prison.
Despite the woman recanting the allegations Colon physically and sexually assaulted her, Vough convicted him on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, simple assault and two counts of indecent assault.
The woman invoked her right to remain silent when former assistant district attorneys Susan Luckenbill and Kim Moraski called her to testify.
When she refused to testify, Luckenbill and Moraski relied on her recorded interviews with Plymouth police Capt. Michael Thomas that were played during the bench trial over the objection of Colon’s trial attorney, Daniel Hunter.
On appeal with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, Vough determined the recorded interviews were mistakenly admitted as the woman opted not to testify and Colon, through Hunter, did not have an opportunity to confront his accuser.
“The recorded statement admitted into evidence was inadmissible hearsay,” Vough wrote in his opinion required for the appeal in Superior Court.
“It goes to show as I told Edwin all along, President Judge Vough follows the letter of the law and makes the right decisions,” Hunter said Monday.
Colon’s appellate attorney, Mark A. Hinrichs, could not be reached for comment Monday.
During the non-jury trial, prosecutors introduced the woman’s sexual assault examination conducted by a nurse at a local hospital. As the woman did not speak English, her description of the alleged assaults had to be translated.
“There is no way to determine if the translation was accurate since the nurse who completed the interview did not testify regarding the translation at trial. Although the description of the events does refer to a sexual assault, it appears to be a summary and it does not establish all the elements of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, indecent assault and simple assault beyond a reasonable doubt,” Vough wrote, noting Colon’s convictions should be vacated and his case remanded for a new trial.
Thomas testified during the bench trial that he responded to Colon’s residence for a domestic disturbance and was invited inside by Colon. Once inside, officers noticed the woman standing behind Colon with injuries to her head and above her left eye.
After Colon was arrested, the woman during interviews that were recorded with police alleged Colon kept her against her will and physically and sexually assaulted her for three days.
Due to the convictions of sexual assault, Colon is subject to lifetime registration of his address as a sexual offender.
Colon is currently jailed at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon in Huntingdon County in south central Pennsylvania.