Visiting therapist coerced woman into sex, New Kensington police allege

A visiting therapist twice took a woman to a New Kensington hotel where he coerced her into having sex, city police allege.

William Francis Denney, 62, of North Huntingdon was arraigned Thursday on charges of institutional sexual assault and criminal coercion. He was released on an unsecured $25,000 bond.

Denney’s attorney, Casey David White, said the charges came as a surprise to Denney, who he said is law-abiding.

“Now that the allegations have been made clear by the New Kensington Police Department, Mr. Denney and myself are going to sit down and comb through each and every allegation made by this woman,” White said. “At this point in time, we’re not sure why exactly it took over two years for the charges to be filed. That is just one of a number of questions we are going to have during the course of his defense.”

White said Denney should be “afforded the right to be cloaked in the presumption of innocence.”

“He has strong family support,” White said. “He’s going to use that support as we traverse through the criminal justice system.”

A criminal complaint filed against Denney said the assaults happened at the Quality Inn hotel on Tarentum Bridge Road in December 2017 and January 2018. The alleged assaults were reported to New Kensington police in January 2019.

At the time of the alleged assaults, Denney was employed by Wesley Family Services. The agency placed Denney on administrative leave as soon as it became aware of the allegations, and he subsequently resigned, said Heather Duncan, vice president of adult services for Wesley Family Services.

Wesley Family Services would not say when Denney was placed on leave or resigned.

“The safety and security, as well as the physical and mental health of our clients, is our sole priority,” Duncan said in a statement. “We take allegations of misconduct and assault seriously, and it is our policy to assist law enforcement in investigations when they request our help.”

The woman, whose age was not disclosed, said Denney took her to doctor appointments and approved entertainment outings, and helped her with court appearances pertaining to her health.

The complaint said the woman feared if she resisted Denney, he would have her sent to a mental health hospital.

In December 2017, the woman said, Denney called and asked her to wear something nice before he picked her up. He took her to a fast food restaurant, where she said he asked her about contraceptives and told her he wanted to take her to the hotel. The woman said she felt pressured and went with him.

The complaint said Denney, after taking her home, asked her not to tell anyone because he would lose his job.

The woman said Denney took her to the same hotel a month later. He later took her bowling.

In the January 2018 encounter, the woman said Denney left his cellphone at her home while they were at the hotel because it had a tracker on it. He did not want it to document that he had been at the hotel, the complaint said.

Police said they retrieved records from the hotel showing Denney had rented rooms on the two dates, paid with the same credit card each time and signed a rental agreement with his name and provided a copy of his driver’s license.

The hotel records indicated he was driving a Nissan Rogue, a company car belonging to Wesley Family Services, the complaint said. The agency’s vehicle logs show Denney was working his day shift hours in New Kensington on the dates of the alleged assaults, according to the complaint.

Denney is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 11.