Crime & Safety

Kerns Pleads Not Guilty to Rape, Waives Formal Arraignment in County Court

Former Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kerns waived his Jan. 29 arraignment in a not guilty plea. Pre-trial motions will now begin in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Accused rapist Robert Kerns, 66, the former head of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, is moving things along quickly at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas level.
Kerns on Wednesday filed paperwork in the county clerk's office to waive his Jan. 29 formal arraignment and entered a not guilty plea, according to The Times Herald. The next step is for a judge to be assigned the case and pre-trial motions to begin.
Kerns, a married father of two, is charged with raping a former paralegal that worked at his Upper Gwynedd law firm, after allegedly drugging her wine with Ambien. The law firm has since disbanded and has been renamed. The alleged rape, authorities said, occurred inside Kerns' Mercedes in King of Prussia and in the Telford home of the alleged victim.
In its report, the grand jury called Kerns' alleged actions "manipulative and predatory."
Kerns gave authorities a DNA sample, which, police said, match DNA profiles found on the alleged victim's underwear and pants. Authorities also found a hidden stash of alcohol, clothes and pink duct tape in the trunk of his car.
According to the affidavit, on Halloween, the former employee contacted Upper Merion Township police to report the alleged rape. The police in turn contacted the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office to assist in the investigation.
Kerns allegedly forcibly raped the alleged victim so brutally that he left bruises and indentations in her thighs, and she continued to bleed from her vagina a week after the alleged incident.
Read all the details of the alleged events of Oct. 25, 2013, the investigation and the aftermath here.


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