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Victim testifies at sexual assault trial of Lackawanna County man

Times-Tribune - 6/16/2021

Jun. 16—A teenage girl told a jury Wednesday that an Elmhurst Twp. man sexually assaulted her at least once a month over a five-year period as testimony in his trial opened in Lackawanna County Court.

Francis Collin Vetter, 35, is charged with scores of offenses, including multiple counts of child rape and statutory sexual assault, related to the alleged sexual abuse of two children.

State police originally charged him in January 2019, with assaulting a minor girl and added more charges involving a boy two months later. He is also accused of trying to obstruct the investigation.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

After jurors were seated and heard opening arguments Tuesday, the girl, now 15, was the first witness called Wednesday by Deputy District Attorney Sara Varela.

With Judge Andy Jarbola reminding her several times to keep her voice up, the girl told jurors the abuse began when she was 7 and Vetter had her watch pornography on his phone. It soon escalated to oral sex, which she said she performed on Vetter at homes in the North Pocono area and in his car.

"He said not to tell anybody because he could get into a lot of trouble," she said.

Vetter had intercourse with her for the first time when she was 9, and he continued to have sex with her through December 2018, when she was 12, the girl testified.

"Once a month, maybe twice a month," the girl replied when Varela asked how frequently the assaults happened.

After the girl disclosed to abuse to a family member, she was interviewed in early 2019, at the Children's Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, where she also received a medical examination that ultimately revealed she had chlamydia, she testified.

State police have said Vetter had the same sexually transmitted disease.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Joseph D'Andrea quizzed the girl at length about a pair of letters, both of which she signed, in which she said the allegations against Vetter were not true.

She acknowledged writing one of the letters but testified she did not write and had "not really" read the other, which was submitted to District Attorney Mark Powell. She disavowed the contents of both and stood by her court testimony.

"I was in a place where everyone was against me. ... It was easier for me to say it didn't happen," she said of the letters.

The trial is expected to continue until at least Friday and possibly into early next week.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132

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