ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two Allentown police officers are set to remain out on bail while facing rape, prostitution and other charges.
Prosecutors' request to revoke bail for Allentown Police Sgt. Evan Weaver and former vice officer Jason Krasley was denied by Lehigh County Judge Thomas Caffrey on Feb. 28.
Authorities allege Weaver and Krasley, while on the Allentown Police Department’s Vice and Intelligence Unit from 2011 to 2015, coerced a woman to perform sexual acts on them to avoid arrest.
Weaver, 45, of Weisenberg Township, was arrested Jan. 10 and released from Lehigh County Jail the next day after posting 10% of his $900,000 bail.
He faces a dozen charges, including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, witness intimidation and several misdemeanors.
Krasley, 48, of Upper Milford Township, was released on $750,000 bail, court records show.
Krasley was charged with nine counts, including rape, involuntary servitude, sexual assault and five misdemeanors, according to court records.
Prosecutors' novel argument fails
Lehigh County prosecutors in January filed an emergency petition asking Caffrey to revoke the officers' bail because they could face life sentences if convicted of all charges.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Dowdle on Jan. 23 argued the Pennsylvania Constitution has “clear, unmistakable language” that says defendants should not be released on bail if they could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
But defense attorney James Burke said prosecutors are “masquerading” that sentencing enhancement as a bail restriction.
Defense attorney Joshua Karoly called Weaver and Krasley “perfect bail candidates.”
Lawyers on both sides acknowledged prosecutors were making an unprecedented legal argument.
“The judge made the right decision."Defense attorney James Burke
Karoly called the argument “ridiculous” and questioned why it had never been made before in any court in the state.
Caffrey at the end of the hearing said he would rule on the bail motion in February.
He submitted an order on Feb. 28 denying prosecutors’ request to revoke bail for Weaver and Krasley.
The order including Caffrey’s reasoning was not available this week as it is sealed, according to staff in the Lehigh County Courthouse’s public-review area.
“The judge made the right decision,” Burke told LehighValleyNews.com on Thursday, calling prosecutors’ motion “an attempt to pile on” to the charges Krasley and Weaver are facing.
