ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A former Allentown vice officer accused of rape was back in court this week facing a dozen new charges.
Jason Krasley, 48, of Upper Milford Township, was arraigned Thursday on multiple charges of rape, indecent assault, official oppression and patronizing prostitutes, as well as a single count of sexual assault, according to court records.
Authorities allege Krasley in September 2012 raped a woman who was working as a prostitute, then allowed her to avoid being arrested on a bench warrant.
The woman told police she again was raped and sexually assaulted by Krasley the next year.
A second woman told police Krasley sexually assaulted her in May 2018 after he responded to an online ad for prostitution, according to a news release from the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.
Krasley’s total bail amounts add up to more than $1 million after a judge set bail at $100,000 in both cases filed against him Thursday.Lehigh County court records
She was detained by other officers after getting away from Krasley and taken to a drug rehab facility instead of being arrested, the release states.
There, she reported the assault to an investigator from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “but nothing was ever done,” authorities said Thursday.
Krasley was released Thursday on unsecured $100,000 bail in each case, which means he did not have to post any money, court records show.
The new charges filed against Krasley “in no way reflect the values or professionalism of the Allentown Police Department,” Chief Charles Roca said Thursday.
Prior charges
Krasley, who left the department in 2021, was charged Jan. 10 with four felonies — including rape and assault — and five misdemeanors.
Authorities allege he and Allentown police Sgt. Evan Weaver forced a woman to perform sexual acts on them in exchange for not arresting her while they worked together from 2011 to 2015 on the department’s Vice and Intelligence Unit.
The new charges against Krasley are “yet another round of vexatious, meritless and uncorroborated allegations from drug-addled and impaired prostitutes.”James Burke, defense attorney
Weaver, of Weisenberg Township, is on administrative leave, Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca told LehighValleyNews.com in January.
Weaver was released Jan. 11 after posting 10% of his $900,000 bail, while Krasley was freed the same day after posting 10% of his $750,000 bail, court records show.
Krasley’s total bail amounts add up to more than $1 million after a judge set bail at $100,000 in both cases filed against him Thursday.
He was released in November on unsecured $100,000 bail after he was accused of stealing thousands of dollars during a May 2019 vice search at a Hamilton Street barbershop.
Krasley was fired in January from his position as an investigator for the U.S. Center for SafeSport; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seeking answers about how Krasley got that job.
‘Fabricated nonsense’: Defense attorney
James Burke, Krasley’s attorney, on Thursday called the new charges “yet another round of vexatious, meritless and uncorroborated allegations from drug-addled and impaired prostitutes.”
By repeatedly charging Krasley rather than bringing all charges in one complaint, Lehigh County prosecutors are trying to keep publicity high around the case before trial, Burke said.
“This is an example of why criminal charges should never be filed after a civil lawsuit. That alone is unprecedented, as it is almost always the other way around. More alleged victims are coming in, to either cash in or receive attention for these ridiculous versions of events from more than a decade ago."James Burke, Krasley’s attorney
He called that a “very troubling” tactic and warned it “will make it very hard for Mr. Krasley to receive a fair trial.”
The district attorney’s office should have lodged criminal charges against Krasley before numerous allegations about him and other officers were made in a whistleblower lawsuit filed last year, Burke said.
“This is an example of why criminal charges should never be filed after a civil lawsuit," he said. "That alone is unprecedented, as it is almost always the other way around.
“More alleged victims are coming in, to either cash in or receive attention for these ridiculous versions of events from more than a decade ago.
“How do you possibly defend against this kind of fabricated nonsense?”
Preliminary hearings on the new charges against Krasley are scheduled for next month.
