Rape Defendant Cannot Withdraw Guilty Plea According to PA Supreme Court
Jose Carrasquillo, the man charged in the rape of an 11-year-old girl in an alley in Kensington, had his 30 to 66 year prison term reinstated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. They ruled that the trial judge did not wrongly reject his request to withdraw his guilty plea. The decision was based on the lack of evidence for the man’s innocence, with one judge saying that one needs more than the magic words “I’m innocent.” Carrasquillo’s case drew national attention and he was captured once a vigilante crowd in Kensington cornered and beat the man before handing him over to police. He initially pleaded guilty, but withdrew his plea once faced with sentencing, also saying that he was the Antichrist and that the CIA had tried to send him to China to assassinate the president.
