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Judge rejects plea deal for man accused of assaulting girl in van outside Children's Institute

PITTSBURGH — A judge rejected a plea deal Tuesday for a man accused of assaulting a girl with special needs.

Lavalle Tucker is accused of groping the 17-year-old girl he was driving to the Children’s Institute in Squirrel Hill last December.

A woman walking by said she saw what Tucker was doing and called the police.

He is facing several charges, including aggravated assault, child endangerment and corruption of minors.

He was expected to accept a plea deal in court Tuesday, but a judge rejected it.

Only Channel 11 was in the courtroom for the hearing Tuesday when the alleged victim’s mother stood up in court and said she wanted to go to trial. The trial will start Feb. 26.

"I am elated that the judge is not going to let this fall through the cracks," said Patty Fowler, the victim's mother. "Sexual assault is such a serious situation in today’s world. It’s everywhere in the media and if we don’t do the right things and give the consequences to actions, I think that is just going to continue."

Tucker was her daughter Hannah's bus driver.

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The prosecutor asked the judge to accept a plea deal that withdrew both felony counts.

"I actually stood up in the courtroom, swore in and projected the fact that the DA (district attorney) was trying to eliminate the felony cases and make this nothing more than a misdemeanor," Fowler said.

Judge Mark Tranquilli then asked the assistant district attorney if there was DNA evidence against Tucker and she said there was.

The judge then sarcastically asked if the eyewitness in the case had been hit by a meteor. The assistant district attorney said they had not.

Clearly disgusted, the judge then called the plea deal "unacceptable" and ordered the case to trial.

Fowler said she's the advocate for her daughter, inside and outside the courtroom.

"I am working with the city of Pittsburgh. We need to get aides and cameras on all buses for children and protect the children who cannot protect themselves," Fowler said.

Channel 11 received the following comment from the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office:

"Based on the available evidence, there were only four misdemeanor charges on which we could sustain our burden of proof. The plea offer presented today encompassed those four charges, with no agreement as to sentencing and a lifetime sex offender registration."

 

Cox Media Group

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