Linden area man jailed on charges of raping unconscious woman

A Woodward Township man already accused of inappropriate contact with a cognitively impaired woman in Sullivan County was arrested and jailed Wednesday morning for allegedly raping another woman while she was unconscious, state police said.

The latest charge was filed by Trooper Josiah Reiner, who has accused James Anthony Esposito Jr., 65, of 1366 Northway Road, Linden, of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance in late September at her Loyalsock Township home. The two first met after the woman previously hired Esposito, a tree service owner “Pruning trees on her property,” the trooper said in an affidavit.

On the night of Sept. 26, Esposito saw the woman at a bar in the city’s East End, approached her and began talking to her, the court document said. When she decided to leave the bar, the woman told Esposito she was going to a community club, police said. Esposito asked her if he could join her and she told him she was fine with that, so the two drove to the club in separate vehicles around 6 p.m., the affidavit said. At the club they all had a beer and spent about 15 minutes there before leaving the establishment together in their own cars. Because Esposito was not a club member like the woman, he had to leave at the same time she did, Reiner said.

The woman “I didn’t say anything to Esposito that evening about further plans. They just said goodbye and went their separate ways.” the statement said. However, when the woman arrived at her home and tried to get out of her car, she saw Esposito’s truck pull into her driveway, Reiner said. “She had no idea why he followed her home. She approached Esposito and asked him what he was doing there,’ the investigator said in the court document. After talking for a few minutes, Esposito asked the woman if he could come into her home ‘for a beer and she agreed,’ Reiner said.

Once inside, the two each drank a beer and talked for a few minutes before the woman excused herself to go to the bathroom, the court document said. “The woman returned and continued to drink her beer that she had left with Esposito while she was in the bathroom. She said she doesn’t remember anything else after she continued drinking her beer. The next thing she remembers is regaining consciousness in her bedroom, lying on her stomach. and feeling “a lot of pain” in the lower part of her body, Reiner said. The woman suddenly realized she was being sexually assaulted, allegedly by Esposito, the investigator said.

“Take the (expletive) out,” the woman yelled at Esposito, who quickly left the bedroom to return and tell the victim “I have to get these beer cans. I have to take them with me,” the court document said. The woman told Reiner that after Esposito left, she “fell faint” until the next morning.

On September 28, just two days after this alleged attack, Esposito was taken into custody and arraigned before Sullivan County District Judge Jennifer Y. Vandine on charges of indecent assault on a person with an intellectual disability, indecent assault with forcible force, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. These misdemeanors and violations, filed by state police in Laporte, stem from an incident that occurred on May 17, according to court records. Esposito was released on $25,000 bail. The Sullivan County Victim Services Unit assisted in this investigation. Reiner’s investigation did not begin until Oct. 2 when he was notified by UPMC Williamsport that a rape victim had come to the hospital for treatment. Reiner interviewed the woman at the hospital.

Following his arraignment before District Judge William Solomon on charges of rape of an unconscious woman and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse plus one count of indecent assault, Esposito was booked into the Lycoming County Jail without bail.