High school senior to stand trial on rape charges

CARNEGIE, Pa — A local high school basketball player was ordered to stand trial on rape and assault charges Friday.

The courtroom was packed with people in support of Ross Wilkerson, who denied the charges.

"What happened that night is very different from the version of events that she gave police and she even admitted there, some really important things were not true,” said Michele Santicola, Wilkerson’s defense attorney.

Santicola said she will stop at nothing to get the charges dismissed.

RELATED: Chartiers Valley High School sports star, 18, accused of raping girl, 17

During testimony Friday, the accuser described what happened to her on the night of March 1. She was on the stand for about an hour.

The accuser, 17, testified Wilkerson invited her to his home over Snapchat and when she got there, he pushed her into a closet in his family’s pool house and raped her.

"I think her credibility is shot because we counted at least 10 to 15 different answers she gave today are completely inconsistent with what she said before," Santicola said.

The alleged victim also testified that she and Wilkerson know each other and that she had given him OxyContin before.

Wilkerson, 18, is a senior at Chartiers Valley High School.

Cox Media Group