Prosecution rests in rape trial
The attorney general’s office rested its prosecution Tuesday against a Jehovah’s Witnesses member charged with sexually assaulting a juvenile autistic girl numerous times over several years more than two decades ago.
Deputy Attorney General Alicia Werner rested the state’s case against Shaun Sheffer, 46, of Harmony, after his brother and a special agent testified before the jury in Common Pleas Court.
Shaun Sheffer has been charged with rape, rape of a mentally disabled person, rape of a person under 13 years old, indecent assault of a person under 13, indecent assault of a person with a mental disability, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
The alleged victim, who testified Monday, said Shaun Sheffer raped her 30 to 50 times beginning when she was 4 years old until she was 12.
Brandon Sheffer, 41, who now lives in Seattle, testified that he was 12 when the girl came to him and said Shaun would enter her room and want to “kiss and stuff.”
During his 2023 testimony before a grand jury, he said he told the jury that the girl told him Shaun entered her room for “sex stuff.”
He said the girl, who was nonverbal until she was 4, could speak, but didn’t communicate well. He said he was young also and didn’t completely understand her, but he believed she meant that Shaun raped her.
Brandon said he didn’t tell his father about what the girl said because he thought he would kill Shaun, but he did tell another one of his four brothers. That brother told their mother, who asked him about it. When their mother approached him, he said he told her what the girl told him.
He said he never witnessed Shaun sexually assault the girl, and never confronted Shaun about the allegation.
After he moved to Washington, he said two Jehovah’s Witnesses elders called him and asked him about the allegations.
Special Agent Stephen Adametz said the office received a referral about a Jehovah’s Witnesses member from the York County District Attorney’s Office, and that led to the grand jury investigation.
Using subpoenas issued by the grand jury, the attorney general’s office received documents from the church relating to several counties, including Butler. Shaun Sheffer’s name is mentioned in the documents, but the alleged victim wasn’t named, Adametz said.
He said he called and talked to Brandon Sheffer after his office received a call on a tip line in February 2023 from him and his wife about sexual abuse of the alleged victim.
Adametz said he arranged a meeting with the alleged victim in his office in Butler. During the meeting, the victim said she would be more comfortable talking if Brandon joined via cellphone from Seattle.
He said Brandon Sheffer helped by providing dates, which the alleged victim had difficulty recalling, but he didn’t “coach” her.
After his arrest in July 2023, Shaun Sheffer agreed to be interviewed by agents and denied the allegations, Adametz said.
However, Shaun Sheffer acknowledged the girl has accused him of sexual misconduct, but he was never given details about her allegations. He also said no allegations were made against his brothers, Adametz said.
He said Shaun Sheffer described the girl as a “special needs” person.
Adametz said the tip line call from Brandon Sheffer and his wife came after the attorney general’s office issued a news release in February 2023 about sexual assault charges being filed against several Jehovah’s Witnesses members.
The attorney general’s office charged 14 church members statewide in 2023 with sexually assaulting minors.
Defense attorney Benjamin Steinberg is expected to begin presenting his case Wednesday.
