If you or someone you know has been domestically or sexually assaulted, contact the police or the Tompkins County Advocacy Center. The center provides free services for people of any race, ability, religion, immigration status, gender identity or sexual orientation. The 24-hour hotline is (607) 277-5000 and more information about the center can be found here.
ITHACA, N.Y. — Bail was set Monday morning for a Dryden man who is preparing for a second trial on rape and sex abuse charges after a 2016 conviction landed him in prison for the past two years.
Jeffrey Horton, 56, is getting a new trial after the appellate division determined that a woman considered for a juror used language that indicated that she was uncertain about whether she could be impartial.
Relate: Bail set as Dryden man charged with rape prepares for second trial
Horton was found guilty of felony first-degree rape — one of 11 of charges — on June 13, 2016 after a weeks long trial determined that he stalked a woman he knew, illegally entered her house through a dog door, and then brutally raped and beat her. The conviction was overturned at the beginning of June.
The woman he is accused of attacking took the stand and described the two-hour ordeal, and prosecutors showed graphic photos of her injuries, which kept her out of work for a month.
But Horton had always maintained his innocence to the major charges. When he testified, he said he slapped the woman for 10 -15 seconds and then stopped. Realizing what he’d done, he said he planned to go back home, but she asked him to stay and engage in sexual intercourse with her.
Horton was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crimes, but with the conviction overturned, the judicial process for the case starts at the beginning again.
Horton was arraigned Monday morning at the Tompkins County Courthouse in front of Judge Joseph Cassidy, who set a $100,000 cash bail or $300,000 bond for Horton. He’s still in custody as of 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Attorney Jerome Mayersak is representing him. Deputy District Attorney Andrew Bonavia said the District Attorney’s office plans to prosecute Horton again.
Feature photo: Jeffrey Horton leaves the Tompkins County Courthouse. (File photo from previous 2016 court proceedings)