Retrial set for Unity couple accused in sexual assault case
Aug. 31—After years of delays, a Westmoreland County judge ordered a married Unity couple to go to trial in early 2024 on allegations they were responsible for the sexual assault of a teenage girl a decade ago.
"This needs to go to trial. It's been eight years now," said Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger as he set the February date for the retrials of Bruce Palmer and his wife, Marie Farabaugh Palmer.
In 2018, a jury found Bruce Palmer, 39, guilty of 13 counts including rape. Marie Farabaugh Palmer, 45, was convicted of lesser counts of reckless endangerment and child endangerment. Bruce Palmer was sentenced to serve 4 to 8 years in prison. Marie Farabaugh Palmer was ordered to serve two years on probation.
Their convictions and sentences were overturned in 2019 after the judge ruled that the teen's testimony at trial was vague, not credible and suggested her emotional outbursts inside and outside the courtroom were deliberate attempts to influence the jurors.
The Palmers have maintained their innocence and claim the now-adult woman concocted the allegations of sexual assault.
Their accuser, according to charges filed in 2015, claimed she was sexually assaulted by Bruce Palmer over a three-year period that ended in 2014 and that Marie Farabaugh Palmer failed to intervene to prevent the attacks.
Legal fights related to the accuser's health records delayed the retrials. The Palmers claim that, as part of their defense, they should be allowed to review statements their accuser made to mental health experts. The judge has yet to make a ruling on that issue.
Meanwhile, the judge rejected a request from the Palmers to dismiss the cases against them.
"The fact you don't want to be tried again, I certainly understand," Krieger said. "But, you don't get to make that choice."
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
