Sewickley man sent to prison for sexually assaulting 2 mentally disabled women

A Sewickley man will serve up to four years in prison for sexually assaulting two mentally disabled women at his home in 2018.

Wayne E. Smith, 75, pleaded guilty Monday to forcing the women, ages 23 and 24, to have sex — acts they were unable to consent to because of their mental deficiencies, prosecutors said.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani rejected the prosecution’s request that Smith be sentenced according to state guidelines that called for him to spend four-to-eight years in prison. The judge said, because Smith also appeared to suffer from mental health issues, he imposed a shorter penalty that requires him to serve a minimum of two years behind bars and five additional years on probation.

Smith was given credit for time he served in jail since his arrest, making him eligible for parole in early November.

“I’m taking into consideration the defendant’s age and the mental disabilities of the victims. This plea avoids the victims having to testify in court,” Feliciani said.

Both victims signed off on the plea deal, according to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Dupilka. She said Smith last year rejected a plea deal that called for him to be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

“She was fine with it,” Dupilka said in explaining one of the victim’s position on the plea deal finalized Monday. “She just didn’t want him to get away with it.”

According to court records, police said Smith raped his first victim between July 16, 2018, and Aug. 12, 2018, when he dragged her into a bedroom, threw her on to a bed, undressed her and had sex. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of rape in that case.

Police said the second victim moved into Smith’s home near Herminie and was pressured into having sexual relations during the first week of September 2018. Smith pleaded guilty to counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault. Prosecutors dropped one rape count.