The rape trial of a Saltsburg man began yesterday in Westmoreland County Court, with his attorney claiming in his opening statement that the allegations against 29-year-old Michael Scott Snyder are false.
Snyder lives in Loyalhanna Township but has a Saltsburg address. He’s charged with eight offenses overall, including five felonies, for rape forcible compulsion, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old, aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 16, and corruption of minors. There are also three misdemeanor offenses: endangering the welfare of children, indecent assault of a person less than 16, and corruption of minors.
He was arrested in April of last years for an incident which police say occurred in September of 2016. He’s accused of serving alcohol to a teenage boy and then forcing the boy to have sex with him. Attorney Tim Dawson said his client will testify on his own behalf and deny the charges. The prosecution said the allegations are true and the victim waited for more than a year to report it to police because he was ashamed.
Snyder has another case pending in Westmoreland County Court, transferred from Indiana County. He is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, endangering the welfare of children, and related offenses for an April 2015 case.
