The victim of an alleged sexual assault told a District Judge in Schuylkill County how she woke up on the morning of Aug. 5 to Tyshon Handley in her bedroom.
“He said ‘Yo’,” the victim told Judge James Reiley on Monday. She said he was not let into her apartment prior to that.
Handley, 35, of Pottsville, then got into bed with the woman and started kissing her leg before making more sexual advances on her, she testified at his preliminary hearing on felony burglary, felony criminal trespass, and misdemeanor indecent assault charges. He’s being held at Schuylkill County Prison on $75,000 bail.
The victim, who at times was visibly upset at having to testify, said she’d only met Handley once before and knew him to have been homeless for the last two weeks and needed a place to stay.
As Handley assaulted her, the victim told Reiley and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench that she began texting her mother and telling her to call 9-1-1.
Pottsville Police officers arrived a short time later and say they heard screaming coming from inside the victim’s apartment. They entered and took Handley into custody.
Prior to Monday’s hearing, Handley dismissed his court-appointed attorney and decided to represent himself. During the hearing, Handley was testy and spoke out of order several times. He attempted to portray the victim of the alleged assault as not being truthful. Handley started the hearing by saying, “We can’t use lie detector tests no more, right?”
He also asked police if there was an incident at the same apartment two weeks prior to his alleged sexual assault in which someone jumped in through a bedroom window. Police confirmed that there was such an incident.
Following testimony at Monday’s hearing, Reiley promptly ruled that all charges against Handley were to be held for Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas.
Since Handley was jailed on Aug. 5, State Police have filed separate charges against him for an alleged incident in New Castle Township in which he made unwanted sexual advances on another woman. He’s facing charges of indecent assault without consent, a second-degree misdemeanor, along with summary counts of harassment and disorderly conduct.
On July 31, outside a business on Mall Rd, Handley and another man got into a woman’s SUV. While in the vehicle, Handley allegedly started trying to force the woman’s head toward his genitals before the other man intervened and stopped him. He also allegedly grabbed the woman by the neck.
Handley has not yet been arraigned on those charges.
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