Jury convicts Lower Burrell man of sexual assault, gun counts

Rich Cholodofsky, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Aug. 10—A Westmoreland County jury convicted a Lower Burrell man of sexual assault and weapons offenses in connection with allegations raised in 2020 by a preteen.

Jurors found Edgar Lee Williams, 42, guilty of all eight charges following two days of testimony and more than three hours of deliberations Thursday.

Williams was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a juvenile.

He also was convicted of four felony offenses for illegal possession of firearms.

Prosecutors contended Williams molested a preteen.

Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Judi Petrush, in her closing argument to the jury, said Williams set out to form a bond with the child as a means to entice her into a sexual activity.

"He gained her trust ... and he established an emotional connection," Petrush said. "He was not a good friend to this (girl). He exploited his relationship with her."

The prosecution said the girl accurately described details about a room in Williams' house, including the presence of multiple guns there that were out in the open. It was a room that Williams testified she never entered, Petrush said.

A police search of Williams' home found four guns.

Williams, who was barred from possessing firearms because of a previous felony conviction of burglary charges, claimed the guns were owned by his live-in fiancee. He testified he never touched the weapons and that they were removed by an unnamed friend when he was at the house.

"That's ridiculous," Petrush argued.

Williams denied the allegations and defense attorney James Robinson argued the girl's testimony was not to be believed.

"What this case comes down to in the end is whether you believe (the accuser). There are inconsistencies in what she said in a forensic interview and a trial," Robinson argued. "There is no physical evidence."

Williams had been free on $60,000 bail before the trial.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio revoked Williams' bonds and ordered he remain in jail pending a sentencing hearing that will be scheduled in about three months.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .