Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By ANDREW TUTINO atutino@leader.net
Sunday, January 30, 2000 Page: 1A
HAZLETON – A Hazleton man was arrested on several felony rape and assault
charges on Saturday night, accused of sexually abusing a 6-month-old child on
Jan. 22. Robert E. Durant II, 25, 76 S. Cedar St., was arraigned on two counts
each of first degree rape and aggravated indecent assault, all felonies,
before District Justice Joseph Zola.
Police say Durant raped the child after her father left the two alone while
he went to pick up the baby’s mother from work. Durant was a long-time friend
of the father, police said. During the 15 minutes that the father was gone,
Durant engaged in vaginal intercourse with the baby, police said.
According to arrest papers: Durant had called the baby’s father at 6:30
that night to say he was coming over to visit. The father and Durant talked
while the father fed his daughter. After the father finished feeding the baby,
he placed her in a swing in the couple’s bedroom. The father had recently
changed the baby’s diaper, and he propped a bottle up in the swing for the
baby, who fell asleep at about 8:30 p.m. Ten minutes later, the mother called
the father for a ride home from work. Because the baby was sleeping and
because of the low temperature outside, the father asked Durant if he would
stay with the child. Normally, the father would take the baby with him, police
said. When the father left the house, the light in the parents’ bedroom, where
the baby’s rocker was kept, was off. The baby was asleep and rocking in the
swing, dressed in a diaper, a white undershirt with snaps, and blue pajamas.
Upon returning to the house about 15 minutes later, the baby’s parents found
the child was crying. The parents noticed a strong smell of feces, the bedroom
light had been turned on, and the baby’s swing had stopped. The mother entered
the bedroom and saw bloodstains on the side of her bed. She looked at the
baby, who had feces on her legs. The baby was wearing only the white
undershirt and a diaper that had been put on incorrectly and haphazardly. The
blue pajamas were lying on the floor near the bedroom window. The mother
opened the diaper and saw the baby was bleeding from the vagina, according to
arrest papers. The parents asked questions of Durant, who was still in the
house. He didn’t answer and quickly MD112left the residence, said Hazleton
Police Chief Ed Harry. The child was then taken to Hazleton St. Joseph Medical
Center, where emergency surgery was performed. She was released on Monday. The
baby’s father told police that after he left the house, Durant was the only
person with the child, according to the arrest papers. The child suffered
internal injuries to her reproductive organs but will probably have a full
recovery, said Detective Cpl. Robert Ferdinand, of the Hazleton Police
Department, at a press conference after the arraignment. Ferdinand and
detective Gary Sworen of the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office were
the lead investigators in the case. The arrest came after a weeklong
investigation by the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators said the investigation took a week because numerous interviews
had to be done and medical evidence had to be gathered. Police said Durant was
questioned and had confessed, but they did not elaborate. District Attorney
David Lupas vowed to prosecute Durant to the fullest extent of the law. Each
rape charge carries MD112a 20-year sentence, Lupas said. Durant told Zola
during the arraignment that he was convicted of driving under the influence
and burglary two years ago. Further information about those convictions was
unavailable Saturday. Durant was sent to the Luzerne County Correctional
Facility for lack of $100,000 bail. His preliminary hearing will be at 11:30
a.m. Feb. 7 before Zola.