A Westmoreland County judge denied the appeal of a Mt. Pleasant Township man who is serving a 50-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls.
Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears said there was no basis to overturn the convictions against Kenneth Daniels.
Following a three-day trial last July, a jury found Daniels, 42, guilty of 10 counts, including felony charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault in connection allegations made by two girls who claimed they were sexually assaulted over a four-year period ending in 2017.
One 21-year-old accuser claimed she was 13 when Daniels forced her to have sex and that he continued to assault her as many as 60 times over the next several years.
Another girl claimed Daniels attempted to have sex with her when she was 9 years old.
Daniels denied the allegations and in his appeal claimed evidence at trial was not sufficient to support convictions.
The judge disagreed.
“The defendant has not offered any substantial reason why the jury’s credibility determinations ought to shock the conscience of the court,” Mears ruled.
