New Milford – Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Carpenter, and daughter, Olivia Carpenter, and Mr. and Mrs. G. M. Carpenter, of Hallstead, have just returned from a motor trip through Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Canada, Lake Ontario, Dansville and Elmira. The trip was made in H. B. Carpenter’s new Ford automobile, and covered over 800 miles.

Meshoppen – Skinwaw, a full blooded Indian living near Salamanca, N. Y. is spending a few days in this vicinity, visiting the scenes of his childhood. He was born at Meshoppen some 25 years ago. Many of our older readers will recall his father, who gained considerable fame as an Indian doctor.

Camp Choconut, Friendsville – Levi Wells, of Kentucky, aged 55 years, a colored cook at Camp Choconut, died July 24, from acute bronchitis. Dr. E. L. Handrick was the attending physician. The deceased was unmarried. F. W. Hart, undertaker of this place, yesterday prepared the body for burial.

Forest City – Horsemen are interested in establishing a driving park here. A committee has been appointed to see about selecting a site, which will probably be located on the flat south of Farrell’s Hotel, if the project materializes. ALSO Patrick McAvoy, aged 93 years, Forest City’s oldest resident, died July 15, 1912, having attained his 93d year the day previous. He had been about the house on his birthday and was in apparently good health. He was born in Ireland July 14th 1819. Three sons and four daughters survive, his wife having died at Herrick six years ago.

West Auburn – The West Auburn Creamery Co. has been doing an unusually large butter business the past season, due to the fact that another skimming station was opened at Neath. This takes the milk from the section surrounding Potterville and South Warren. The butter fat is taken to the central creamery at LeRaysville, of which B. L. Taylor is manager, and there made into butter. During the height of the season about 1,000 pounds was made daily—the product of about eleven tons of milk.

Montrose – Like other borough ordinances, the one which prohibits riding bicycles or other vehicles on the sidewalks of Montrose is constantly violated. Only recently a most serious accident was prevented by prompt action of a man who took the brunt of a collision to save a woman from injury. We have an excellent Chief of Police. He cannot prevent lawlessness, but he can arrest those who ride bicycles on the sidewalk and thereby endanger life and limb of pedestrians. ALSO After 14 years of debt, the Rough & Ready Fire Co. No. 1 paid off their chemical engine, the original cost being $1000.

Susquehanna – Mrs. H. F. Dolan has been arrested by Deputy U. S. Marshall Hugh Evans, of Scranton, charged with violating the postal statutes. She is charged with having used the mail to injure the character of a well known Susquehanna married woman and two of her young lady friends. A hearing was given Mrs. Dolan before U. S. Commissioner W. A. Skinner, and she pleaded not guilty and emphatically denied all the charges.

Fairdale – Dr. R. A. Torrey and son, Reuben, L. H. Griffis and H. M. Cole were here on Sunday, where they attended the morning church services and heard a sermon by the Rev. James Lawson. Reuben Torrey favored the congregation with a solo.

Lakeview – The Hall and Lamb Reunion will be held Aug. 14 at the home of S. E. and J. C. Morse. All friends and their families are cordially invited to attend.

Springville – The Springville Giants played Camp Pokanoket, of Lake Carey. The latter is composed of some high class players and the game proved to be the best ever witnessed in Springville. The fans were kept guessing throughout the grueling contest, which ended with the score being 8-5 in favor of Springville.

Forest Lake – We hardly realize what a little village we are getting at the lakeside. There are eleven cottages—some new ones and many improvements in and around others. Among those now occupying cottages are Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whipple, Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway and Miss Grace Tibbetts, Mr. and Mrs. Dyer, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Taylor, Mr. Bradshaw, Mrs. Caleb Bush, Miss Nash, Mr. Safford, Mr. and Miss Lee, with a whole lot of their friends who fish and gain health for the work that is to come later. The Stone reunion is planned for Saturday.

Shannon Hill, Auburn Twp. – Thomas McGavin had a bee last Tuesday to raise the new barn he is building.

Lawsville, Liberty Twp – Thomas Mahoney wears a smile—a 10-pound grandson, Thomas Mahoney, Jr.

Glenwood – We wish some people in this town would lay down their great burden of sins. We know they would feel better and happier. The writer has been accused of firing some hot shots at certain individuals. We are not guilty. We have none but the kindest regards for every citizen of this town and community. Put us to the test and we will prove it. Don’t pick out an item against certain propositions and harbor them as a direct slur at you. Don’t accuse us of being personal. We have got enough sins to answer for that are true. We want to be a benefit to every one in this vicinity, if possible. Don’t go to carrying imaginary burdens. It is energy wasted.

News Briefs: A new design will be used on 5 cent pieces in the near future. The present one doesn’t coincide with the Treasury Department’s conception of art, and will be changed entirely. Sec. McVeagh has decided to replace the Goddess of Liberty on the face of the nickel, with a buffalo. The reverse side of the new coin will contain the head of an Indian. ALSO Postmaster General Hitchcock has issued an order to all postmasters that will affect flirtatious people and those using the mail for clandestine purposes. For some time the general delivery window of postoffices has been used by young people to carry on correspondence with people their parents might object to, the mail not being delivered in the usual way but called for at the general delivery window. Under Hitchcock’s new regulation, postmasters may require all persons to furnish in writing their names and addresses and statements of their reasons for preferring to receive their mail at the general delivery. Minors may also be required to furnish the names of their parents, in order that they may be notified and have an opportunity to control the delivery of mail to their children.

Last month, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a very important piece of legislation that will be a powerful tool in prosecuting sexual assault cases. Pennsylvania law will now permit expert testimony on victim behavior and response in sexual assault cases. Prior to this legislation, prosecutors were not permitted to “bolster” the testimony of a complaining witness through an expert witness explaining the typical behavior or reaction of a sexual abuse victim. In essence, the courts had determined that an expert could not vouch for the credibility of the complaining witness based upon the consistency of the victim’s behavior with that of other sexual assault victims.

This created a difficult situation in sexual assault cases – fertile ground for the defense attorney to exploit while the prosecution had to sit back with our hands tied. In a sexual assault case, the defense is normally predictable. If the defendant admits to the sexual contact, then it is consensual. If the defendant denies the sexual contact, then the victim is lying. In either event, the defense challenges victims consistently on several key areas. First, it is pretty common for a victim not to report the sexual abuse immediately. As the recent Penn State scandal tragically demonstrated, sexual assault victims often wait substantial time periods before making any report. It is frankly more typical for a victim to delay reporting abuse than for a victim to make a prompt complaint.

Defense attorneys hammer the witness with the lack of a prompt complaint – they take the victim through all the different people the victim could have told, but never did. The defense attorney then uses this ammunition to suggest to the jury that the victim is not credible because no person would ever wait so long to make a report of sexual abuse. Moreover, there is actually a jury instruction regarding “prompt complaint” which specifically tells jurors that they may consider the lack of prompt complaint as a basis for disbelieving the victim. The defense attacks on the witness coupled with the “lack of prompt complaint” instruction created a difficult situation for prosecutors to counter effectively.

Up until last month, Pennsylvania was the only state that was still prohibiting expert testimony to explain this victim behavior – so prosecutors were left with only the victim’s testimony as to the reasons for failing to make a complaint sooner. Oftentimes, victims themselves have a hard time understanding why they did not come forward sooner – and their confusion, pain, fear, and shame make articulation difficult. When you add a victim’s young age to the formula, it simply adds to the level of difficulties.

Now, prosecutors will be permitted to bring in an expert witness to explain how sexual assault victims react, behave and respond to sexual abuse. In other words, the jurors will finally hear from an expert that victims have difficulties reporting sexual abuse, victims struggle in coming forward to make reports, victims battle feelings of shame and guilt, victims are afraid of what the offender will do, victims do not know who to tell, victims worry that no one will believe them, victims feel isolated and alone, and victims do not act in a uniform way. Hopefully, by allowing this testimony, jurors will have more guidance to judge victim behavior not based upon what an individual juror may believe he or she would do – but how actual victims of sexual assault truly react.

I did one sexual assault trial where the victim promptly reported that she was raped – she made the report within minutes. She refused to go immediately to the hospital because she wanted her mother to go with her. Because her mother was on vacation several hours away, the victim had to wait most of the day until her mother came home. The victim testified that she could not bear being alone – so she went to work – where her boss told her to go home because she was so upset. The victim did not call the police – she was waiting for her mom to go to the hospital and the hospital eventually called the police. Well, she got to the hospital and the DNA from the rape kit proved that sexual intercourse occurred – so the defense had to be that it was consensual.

The defense attorney used the victim’s “conduct” to suggest that she was not telling the truth – he argued that she consented to the sex, but later regretted it, so she made up the rape story. In other words, the victim’s reaction was not what a juror would expect. If you are raped, you rush to the hospital - you don’t wait for your mother and try to go to work. The defense attorney also argued that when you are raped, you immediately call the police, you don’t sit around waiting to go to the hospital to report it. The jurors had nothing to go on as to how a sexual assault victim would react in those circumstances – no expert testimony except for the defense attorney’s “expertise” in making the victim look like a liar. The jurors agreed with the defense attorney and acquitted the defendant of rape.

No victim acts the same – but a sexual abuse expert could testify to how that particular victim’s response was not unusual for a rape victim. It is not unusual that a sexual assault victim wants support from a family member after making a report. It is not unusual for a sexual assault victim to not know where to go to make a report. It is not unusual for a sexual assault to be reported to the police by hospital personnel – not the victim. The new law provides the Commonwealth the ability to place a sexual assault victim’s reactions and behavior in the proper context – and counter the defense attorney’s efforts to twist the victim’s reaction from credible responses to incredible reactions.

Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.