News

July 17, 2008

Pregnancy leads to rape arrest

Kingston man charged with raping mentally challenged woman.

By Ed Lewis elewis@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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KINGSTON – Police arrested a 51-year-old man on Wednesday and charged him with raping a mentally challenged woman who became pregnant.

Peter David Flanagan, of Price Street, Kingston, was charged by Detective Thomas Paratore with two counts of rape and a single count of sexual assault.

Paratore said Flanagan was a friend of the Kingston family who trusted him to care for the woman.

“This is one of the most disturbing cases I’ve ever worked on,” Paratore said.

Paratore said the investigation began in April when the woman gave birth to a female stillborn fetus at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

The woman went to the hospital on April 29 for what she believed was a stomach ache, only to find out she was in labor, according to the criminal complaint.

Hospital officials were suspicious of the woman’s pregnancy and contacted police.

The woman told police Flanagan was her mother’s friend, and he was the father of her baby. She also claimed Flanagan forced her to have sexual encounters several times in October and November, the criminal complaint says.

Police learned that the woman’s contact with males was limited to her brother and Flanagan, Paratore said.

The woman said the assaults took place when her mother fell asleep.

Flanagan allegedly told the woman, “Keep this between us,” the criminal complaint says.

Paratore said Flanagan submitted to a DNA test.

Tissue samples taken from the fetus and Flanagan’s blood were mailed to the Marshall University Forensic Science Center in Huntington, W.Va.

Paratore said a forensic analysis of Flanagan’s blood and tissue samples from the fetus concluded that it is 99.99 percent likely that Flanagan was responsible for the woman’s pregnancy.

“We’re confident if this goes to trial, that we’ll prevail,” Paratore said.

Flanagan denied he sexually assaulted the woman. He had no comment after he was arraigned by District Judge Paul J. Roberts Jr. in Kingston.

Flanagan was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 24 in Central Court.

Edward Lewis, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7196.

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