A Schuylkill County judge granted a continuance of the criminal trial of a Shenandoah man accused of sexually assault a minor over the course of several years and getting her pregnant.
On Monday, President Judge Jacqueline Russell agreed to postpone the trial of Luis Perez, 26, accused of sexually assaulting a minor and getting her pregnant. Perez was to have his case heard before a jury on Monday in Courtroom 2 at Schuylkill County Courthouse.
Prior to the jury being called in to hear opening arguments, defense attorney Kent Watkins raised concern about the discovery process. At times, he told Russell that he was ready to proceed, despite his questions about what he had and hadn’t received from the Schuylkill County District Attorney’s Office.
Watkins wondered why there was no record of a forensic interview with the alleged victim in the case and no notes recorded.
“I don’t know where they got this information from if they don’t have any notes,” Watkins said.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jen Foose told Watkins and Russell that all materials were handed over and that a forensic interview hadn’t been done.
The defense attorney told Russell he felt prejudiced in that he didn’t have a chance to discuss with Perez the timeline of alleged events leading to his arrest. Specifically, the affidavit filed by police in Shenandoah indicates all of Perez’s alleged actions happened on one specific date despite it being alleged that they happened over the course of several years.
That was a point of concern Russell emphasized, too. That and regarding all the other questions Watkins brought up before the jury was seated led the judge to say there were “rather significant matters that need to be addressed.”
Foose suggested the questions Watkins was raising could be setting everyone up for a potential appeal in the future so both parties ended up requesting the continuance. The trial will now be held in November.
Perez, if convicted on all charges, faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.
In April, police in Shenandoah were alerted to a Childline report of a pregnant minor in the borough. That eventually led the alleged victim to naming Perez, then 25 years old, as the father of her unborn baby. She gave birth in May.
Perez, she said, had started sexually assaulting her when she was 5 years old.
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