A Carbon County jury panel deliberated for almost eight hours, over a two-day period, before finding a Kunkletownman guilty of the rape of a young girl in July 2015.

The panel found Stephen E. Hogg Jr., 35, guilty of two counts each of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor in a sexual manner, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of a minor with the defendant older than 18 and indecent assault on a person less than 13. Ten of the 12 counts are felonies. The rape of a child charges are felony ones.In finding Hogg guilty, the panel apparently rejected his alibi defense and believed the victim that the assaults did occur.The commonwealth, represented by Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Ann Dyrda Hatton, alleged that Hogg raped a then 12-year-old girl in her home in the Indian Mountain Lakes development in Penn Forest Township, on two occasions in July 2015. On the day of jury selection on March 6, Hogg's attorney, Paul Levy of the public defender's office, notified the commonwealth that they were going to present an alibi defense. The jury panel was selected but the start of the trial was delayed to April 3 by Judge Steven R. Serfass.In the meantime, the commonwealth then moved to amend the original complaint twice, expanding the time frame from July 1 to 14 to the entire month of July, and a second filing expanding it to the months of July and September 2015 after the alibi notice indicated Hogg was going to present witnesses that claimed he did not live at the residence in July 2015.The victim testified that Hogg raped her twice in the guest room, which was across the hall from her bedroom. The defendant was using the guest room while staying with the victim's family. The victim and her father testified that Hogg lived with them most of July 2015. The girl could not give specific dates in July when the assaults occurred.The allegations came to light in March 2016 when the victim told a girlfriend about the assaults. That conversation was overheard by the girlfriend's mother, who called the victim's father and told him what his daughter had said. The father then called state police at Fern Ridge, who began an investigation.Trooper Eric Porpiglia was lead investigator and testified that when he spoke with Hogg about the pending charges in May 2016, the arrest report indicated the assaults occurred in July. He said Hogg agreed that he lived with the family in July 2015, during that initial interview.Hogg, who denied the allegations, saying that he "absolutely" never touched the girl or had sexual relations with her, told the jury he only realized when jury selection was scheduled for March that he was not living at the home until September 2015, which led to Levy filing a notice of an alibi defense.Testimony from the commonwealth also included a transcript of a forensic investigation interview with the victim by the Child Advocacy Center, Scranton, Jill Geissinger of the Carbon County Office of Children and Youth, which conducted its own investigation, and a doctor who treated the girl for stress at an Orefield, Lehigh County, facility.Hogg presented three witnesses who said he lived at the residence of the victim during September 2015, not during July.Levy also presented a witness who only came forward on Tuesday, Rita Wetzel. Her testimony was that she became close friends with the victim while meeting her at a school bus stop and claimed the girl gave four different versions of what occurred.However, the victim was recalled as a rebuttal witness and denied ever telling Wetzel about the details of the assaults and was close to her and never confided about anything concerning the assaults with Wetzel.The jury began deliberations about 4 p.m. Wednesday, the third day of the trial. It reached its verdict Thursday afternoon.The commonwealth charged Hogg on March 19, 2016, and he was jailed on $40,000 percentage bail. On March 3, on petition of Levy, bail was reduced to $100 straight cash. Hogg posted the bail and was released.Following the announcement of the verdict, Serfass revoked Hogg's bail and reset it at $100,000 straight cash. Hogg was unable to post it and was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies and placed in the county prison.Serfass deferred sentencing and ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report. The charges also fall under the provisions of Megan's Law. Hogg will be evaluated by the state sexual offenders assessment board to determine if he is a violent sexual predator. If it is determined he is, then he will have to register for life as a sexual offender. If not, the registration period will be 25 years.