STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The trial for a man accused of forcing himself on a member of his wedding party got underway Monday morning in Monroe County.
Holding hands, Daniel Carney of Stroudsburg and his wife Nicole Norris walked into the Monroe County Courthouse for day one of his trial.
During opening statements, the prosecution said that two days before the wedding in August of 2019, the wedding party took a rafting trip down the Delaware River.
When they got back to shore, Carney allegedly led a heavily intoxicated bridesmaid to the men's locker room inside the Shawnee Inn Resort. That's where he is accused of sexually assaulting her.
The prosecution said you're more likely to be sexually assaulted by someone you know than someone you don't, arguing the woman did not consent to the alleged encounter.
But the defense says her actions don't match that of a person who is drunk and just got assaulted. They argue the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was unconscious and the encounter was not consensual.
That bridesmaid took the stand on Monday, alleging she tried to fight Carney off.
During her testimony, the prosecution presented a 37-minute security video that shows the two walking into the locker room and his then-fiancée and maid of honor looking for them.
The alleged assault stopped when Carney's now-wife walked into the locker room.
Text messages from the wedding day between Carney and the bridesmaid were submitted as evidence, showing Carney apologizing, saying he loves his soon-to-be wife, and begging the bridesmaid to take Plan B, an emergency birth control method, to be safe.
Carney faces charges of aggravated indecent assault without consent.
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