Former fire chief convicted in Armstrong County sexual assault case
One of two Armstrong County men accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in 2016 was found guilty by a jury.
Mark Alan Feeney, 56, was convicted Wednesday on charges of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors.
Feeney is a former chief of the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department who formerly served as a borough councilman in Applewold.
The jury deliberated less than 90 minutes before returning the verdict, according to Feeney’s attorney, Marc D. Daffner.
“Obviously, we are disappointed, and we don’t believe the evidence was sufficient for conviction,” Daffner said. “We respect the jury system and the court system, and we’ll move on from here.”
Sentencing is set for Aug. 22.
The victim in the case told police he first met Feeney in 2016 at a Kittanning park. They became Facebook friends, had sexually explicit conversations and exchanged nude photos. Around Easter 2016, the victim met Feeney at his Applewold home three times for sex, which wasn’t consensual, the victim told police.
Another man, David John Croyle, 61, is scheduled to go to trial in July on separate charges of sexually assaulting the same boy. Croyle is a Kittanning councilman, newspaper publisher and pastor.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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