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Jurors can't reach decision about restaurateur accused of sexual assault

PITTSBURGH — A mistrial was declared Wednesday in the sex assault trial of former Pittsburgh restaurateur Adnan Pehlivan.

Pehlivan was on trial for allegedly stalking and sexually assaulting a woman he met at a Kopy's bar on the South Side in May 2018.

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He was facing several charges, including stalking, simple assault and sexual assault.

"The district attorney put on their best case, their best foot forward and failed to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt of his guilt, and he is someone entitled to bond, and I hope after I file my motion and we have a hearing, the judge will agree," said Lee Rothman, his attorney. "It poses some very interesting issues if there’s going to be a retrial. What would be admissible? In particular, the video of him. What they were indicating was him stalking."

Channel 11's Renee Wallace said the jurors found him not guilty on the first two charges but were deadlocked on the sexual assault.

Photo courtesy: Allegheny County Police

A new trial for the sexual assault charge will take place within 90 days.

Prosecutors called the victim of the alleged crimes, a 25-year-old woman, to the witness stand, along with her roommates who were at the bar the night of the alleged assault.

For the defense, Pehlivan took the stand himself as a witness, along with a doctor who served as a character witness.

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The woman alleges that Pehlivan met her and her roommates at the bar, then began chatting with them after buying a round of shots.

Video shows the women leaving the bar and walking down the street with Pehlivan following behind in a vehicle. On occasion, he would pull over and turn off the car's headlights. He told the jury he was doing that because the girl did not want her roommates to know she had invited him back.

The woman told the jury how she woke up in her apartment to the defendant sexually assaulting her. She then told them how, when Pehlivan tried to run, she grabbed his shirt and he punched and pushed her.

Pehlivan said the woman told him to enter through her basement door but, when they entered her bedroom and began a sexual act, she started repeatedly asking him who he was.  Pehlivan told the jury he reminded her several times who he was and how they met and then left her house.  He told the jury that one minute she was one person and the next she was a different person.

Around 3:30 Wednesday afternoon, the jurors told the judge they were deadlocked. He sent them back to continue deliberations. At 4:30 p.m., a mistrial was declared.

A spokesperson for the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office told Channel 11:

"We will retry the defendant on the four charges."

 

Cox Media Group

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