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WILKES-BARRE — Former Wilkes-Barre police officer Robert M. Collins faced his accusers Thursday as they testified about performing oral sex on him while he was on duty.
Collins, 53, of Mountain Top, listened and took notes during his preliminary hearing at the Luzerne County Courthouse before District Judge Joseph Zola, who is expected to rule today on whether to send the case to trial.
Three of four women testified they felt compelled to give Collins oral sex, while the fourth claimed Collins sexually assaulted her and masturbated.
None of the women testified that charges were filed against them after performing the alleged sex act.
The first woman to testify, 37, a convicted prostitute, said she was “walking the streets” on Carey Avenue when she was stopped by Collins. She claimed she had cocaine in a purse that Collins did not find.
She said Collins placed her in the front seat of a cruiser and drove her to the abandoned Murray Complex on South Pennsylvania Avenue.
“He said, ‘What can we do to take care of these charges?’” the woman said.
She claimed Collins exposed himself and she performed oral sex.
“He said to keep my mouth shut and the charges will go away,” she testified.
In response to a question by Zola, the woman explained “walking the streets” meant she was prostituting herself. She estimated the alleged act took place between October and December in 2014.
The second woman to testify, 25, said she was detained after she was caught shoplifting at the Rite Aid on East Northampton Street on May 7, 2014. After being taken to the police department, she identified herself using a sister’s name and encountered Collins.
When she was released, Collins offered her a ride and parked next to an old bank building near East Market Street.
“I asked why he stopped and he said he wanted to check something and he put his hand on my thigh,” she said. “I said what the (expletive) are you doing and he said, ‘What, you don’t like this?’”
She testified Collins penetrated her with his fingers and he masturbated in front of her.
“I was cursing, I was crying,” she said.
After Collins finished, she said he asked, “Do you want me to pay you? And I went off. Why the (expletive) do I want you to pay me? He told me not to tell anybody, he knows my family”.
‘I was crying’
A 30-year-old woman testified she was inside a vehicle with two men and was stopped by Collins on North River Street near the courthouse sometime during the summer of 2014. She said she was taken out of the vehicle and searched by Collins, who found a needle in her bra.
She said Collins allowed the men to leave without searching them while he handcuffed the woman and drove her to a cemetery.
“He said if I performed oral sex on him, I wouldn’t be charged,” she said. “I was on probation at the time so I did.”
After the alleged act, Collins began driving her home but on the way he let her out after receiving a radio call.
“He said if I told anybody, he would file charges and I would go to jail,” she testified.
A 26-year-old testified she was inside a vehicle with two men leaving the Sherman Hills apartment complex when they were stopped by Collins sometime in July 2014. Seated in the rear seat, she said Collins opened the back door and told her to get out, patting her down “in a sexual way.”
“He said he liked what he felt,” she said.
Collins found two heroin packets on her, she testified, and he told the two men to leave. She claimed Collins then drove her to another area of the apartment complex.
“He unzipped his pants and said I was going to suck his …,” she said. “I closed my eyes and I was crying and I performed oral sex on him.”
Collins, who was charged by state police Jan. 22, retired in February after 12 years as a city officer. He earned $71,680 in 2018 and will receive an annual pension of $33,587, according to records.
Judge Zola initially was expected to issue a ruling on whether to send the case to county court by 3 p.m. Thursday, but pushed his decision to this morning to review relevant case law.
“The burden is exclusively on the commonwealth to establish a prima facie case on each element, on each crime, on each accuser,” said Collins’ attorney, Evan T. L. Hughes of Philadelphia. “It’s a fairly complex case involving a span of time. I would submit very shaky allegations. It’s going to be a task for his honor to go through the testimony and apply the law to the facts.”
State Deputy Attorney General Bernard Anderson is prosecuting.
Collins is faced with 11 felony and 11 misdemeanor counts that include rape, intimidation of witness or victim, aggravated indecent assault and official oppression. He remains free on $125,000 bail.