Latrobe man sent to prison for New Year's party sexual assault

A Latrobe man will serve up to four years in prison for the sexual assault of an unconscious woman at a New Year’s party last year in Hempfield.

Hunter Hoyle, 22, told a Westmoreland County judge on Thursday he was sorry for his actions in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2020, in which a then 20-year-old woman claimed she was sexually assaulted after she fell asleep in a friend’s room during the party.

“He was highly regretful and sorry,” said defense attorney Alan Roth. “He admitted what he did but believed there was consent. It was a New Year’s party and everybody there was drinking.”

Following a three-day trial in May a Westmoreland County jury found Hoyle not guilty of two counts of rape of an unconscious woman. He was convicted of one lesser felony charge of sexual assault.

According to court records, Hoyle’s accuser told police she drank a half bottle of orange vodka and consumed four Jell-O shots before she fell asleep. She told police she remembered feeling pain, hearing Hoyle speaking to her and then loud knocking on the door.

When she awoke at 9 a.m., she said she was sore, her shorts were inside out and she told police she did not consent to having sex. Witnesses told investigators they saw Hoyle in the bedroom with his accuser, and two of the party-goers claimed they saw Hoyle in the room with the woman as he hiked up and buckled his pants, according to court records.

Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered Hoyle to serve 2-to-4 years in prison, a sentence that started on Thursday. Hoyle had been free on a $50,000 bond.

“After hearing the evidence it seems the jury may have found some sort of mitigation in this case,” the judge said. “Alcohol certainly clouded your judgment. I’m not sure this would have happened if alcohol wasn’t involved. I don’t find you the kind of person who is likely to re-offend.”