Jury deliberations to resume in sexual assault and rape trial of Allegheny Township man

A Westmoreland County jury will continue deliberations Friday morning in the rape and sexual assault trial of an Allegheny Township man.

Jurors in the cases against Eric Alan Wright, 49, deliberated more than eight hours Thursday before they were sent home for the night by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio after 9 p.m.

The jury will resume deliberations at 9 a.m.

Wright originally was charged in six separate cases with a total of more than 50 offenses.

Prosecutors consolidated the cases against Wright and submitted 24 counts to the jury when it started its deliberations shortly after 1 p.m. to include multiple offenses of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault.

Wright concluded his testimony Thursday morning and denied he ever acted inappropriately with any of his accusers. They include six females: a teenage girl; two women who said they were sexually assaulted as teens; and three other women. The Tribune-Review does not identify alleged sex crime victims.

Wright claimed his accusers acted together and made up the allegations for money. He testified he received a $350,000 civil court settlement in 2019 and 2020 for injuries he previously sustained when he was attacked by a dog.

“It did not happen,” Wright said, responding to questions from defense attorney Bill Difenderfer about the allegations of sexual assault and rape.

Prosecutors contended Wright raped, sexually assaulted and exposed himself to the teens and adults dating to the early 2000s.

Allegations were first raised against him in 2019 by a girl who claimed Wright raped her at least three times. She struggled to speak during her testimony, which included long stretches of silence in response to questions from both assistant district attorneys who prosecuted the case.

Statements she made to police and a child psychologist, as well as her diary entries she wrote about the alleged rapes, were introduced as evidence.

Four of the five women also testified they were raped. The other said Wright exposed himself, among other things.

Assistant District Attorney Christina Gongaware argued the totality of the allegations against Wright was overwhelming.

“If these people are scheming together, they are the worst schemers I have ever seen,” Gongaware said in her closing argument. “He has an M.O. He likes doing things if there is a chance he can get caught. He was successful for decades, and that’s why he kept doing it. He didn’t think he would get caught.”

In his closing argument to the jury, Difenderfer said the six witnesses should not be believed and that no physical or corroborating evidence was presented during the four days of testimony.

”Everybody is saying the same stuff here,” Difenderfer said. “These stories are made up.”