Bradford County DA pleads not guilty in sexual assault case weny.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from weny.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It really upset me that he just went back to work like it was nothing like they hadn t laid out all those charges. So I went and read the entire criminal complaint, and as a mom and a grandma, I thought, What if that had been one of our girls? said Elizabeth Owen of Strong Women of Bradford County.
In addition to the petition, members of the organization called the Strong Women of Bradford County penned a letter to local newspapers calling on Salsman to resign. Every day that he spends in office makes a mockery of the women that have accused him of these crimes, the women who potentially were victimized by him who haven t come forward, women who have experienced the same thing at someone else s hand and the people of Bradford County in general, Mandy Wakely, another member of the group.
There were also “many other women (who) were placed in the same position, (but) those events occurred outside the statute of limitations,” and their cases could not be included for criminal charges, authorities said. During a news conference announcing the charges, Shapiro said, The details of these assaults are incredibly disturbing, and they are criminal. We know that they strike even deeper because Mr. Salsman abused his position of authority as a lawyer, and as a public official here in this county. The victims in this case were relying on him to be their advocate, to represent them at a time when they felt powerless. Instead, they ended up being preyed upon.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday that a grand jury has handed down charges against Bradford County District Attorney Chad Salsman for allegations that included sexual assault, intimidation, prostitution, and obstruction of justice.
âChad Salsman would regularly use his position and power as an attorney to coerce his victims into performing sexual acts on him. He would bring them into his private office, under the guise of discussing their case, and used his knowledge of his clientsâ vulnerabilities to negate their consent and sexually assault them,â said Shapiro. âSalsman picked these victims because they didnât have any other choice, because he thought they would be easy to silence, and less likely to be believed if they ever came forward. As Attorney General, I have a responsibility to stand up for people who need a voice in our Commonwealth.â