Latest news with #Graf
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'If I cry rape, I'll get out of getting in trouble': DA defends Rodriguez prosecution
During a press event Tuesday, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said Veronika Rodriguez lied about being the victim of sexual assault, and misrepresented a recording of a date and sexual encounter with Fahad Pervez in 2023. Veronika Rodriguez was found guilty on May 23 of intercept communications, disclose intercepted communications, and giving false information to a law enforcement officer. True sexual assault victims will be under more scrutiny and less likely to be believed because of people like Rodiguez, according to Graf. "Whatever her true motivation was, whether it was simply to get out of a reprimand for fraternization or whether it would get her more attention ... what she has done here has undermined the work of true sexual assault trauma survivors," she said. "It is disgusting." Graf called on Rodiguez to apologize to both Pervez and "every true legitimate trauma survivor" for her actions both during the January 2023 event and afterwards. "Veronika Rodriguez needs to realize there is a consequence for what she did, and that there is going to be a consequence for ruining a good man's life and his reputation," Graf said Tuesday. On Jan. 11, 2023, Rodriguez went to Fort Indiantown Gap Police Department to report an sexual assault she alleged happened on Jan. 8, 2023 involving Pervez. Rodriguez told police that she and Pervez had non-consensual sex while in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Keystone Conference Center, and that she recorded parts of the incident on her phone. Pervez was never formally charged in the alleged incident. According to Pennsylvania's wiretap act, it is illegal to record private conversations, which can include conversations in public places, without the consent of all parties to the conversation. An exception to the act is when someone is under a reasonable suspicion that they are recording a crime of violence, which does include rape. Rodriguez has a pattern of recording partners she was with, according to Graf. According to Rodriguez's phone data, she would meet people she was in relationships with and start stalking them on social media. "She had a history, and we saw it on her phone, where she would document and record interactions with these men and they wouldn't know it," Graf said. Law enforcement officials found evidence of Rodriguez using friends' phones to take pictures of Snapchat conversations, driving by a paramour's house to "copy his wife's license plate," and taking videos of herself passing the property and sending them to friends. "As soon as those men would dump her, or end things, or refuse to speak to her anymore, she would send that evidence to their significant others," Graf said. Graf said before meeting with Pervez, Rodriguez used her phone to search the former military doctor's social media history. Graf said law enforcement found evidence that Rodriguez knew Pervez was married, though at the time of the incident separated, before they went out that evening. "So (Rodriguez) started making this recording, like she did with every other man that she deals with, and now she has it," Graf said Tuesday. "The difference is in this case, she has to talk to her (military) supervisor and this now becomes, 'If I cry rape, I'll get out of getting in trouble.'" Pervez met with Rodriguez on Jan. 7 at a Middletown dental clinic where she worked. After some general conversations, he left her a note about potential books and his number and that he was a doctor from New York City. Later they arranged to meet up Jan. 8, which ended up at Frog Hollow Tavern in Jonestown. Pervez then drove Rodriguez back to Snitz Creek Brewery in Annville, where she left her car at the beginning of the night. Both Pervez and Rodriguez testified during trial that they went to Funck's Mini Market Gas station to treat a nose bleed. Graf Tuesday showed the video of Rodriguez walking through the gas station, highlighting the fact the Rodriguez walked past two clerks with her cell phone on the way to the bathroom. "So if her version of events are really true, why don't you speak to those two people that could help you?" Graf said to the media Tuesday. "Why don't you use your phone and call 911?" Prosecutors played the 55-minute audio recording made by Rodriguez of the alleged sexual assault on Jan. 11, 2023 at the Keystone Conference Center for the jury last week. Graf did not play the recording for the media Tuesday, but said her office spent four weeks going through Rodriguez's phone data. "(Rodriguez) takes that hour long recording, and on her own she self edits it to make well over 10 clips that she labels and names, in her own words, to paint this out as a rape," Graf said. "She does this." Prosecutors at trial and Graf Tuesday said that Rodriguez attempted to delete the entire recording from her phone, and played select clips for law enforcement while they were conducting their investigation. "So as (Rodriguez's) portraying this incident to law enforcement, she blatantly lies," Graf said. "She manipulates the true evidence that was there, that full hour-long recording, and she never admits that (recording) exists." Graf read text messages shared between Rodriguez and Pervez on Jan 8 and Jan. 9, which included discussions about another meeting and Rodriguez texting "I'd prefer zero cops next time." She also read text messages between Rodriguez and one of her friends, identified as "Bad Bitch," talking about the experience in a positive way. On Jan. 10, 2023, Rodriguez's superiors at Fort Indiantown Gap contacted her about a police blotter item, which showed police met with Rodriguez, an airman, and Pervez, a major, at the Keystone Conference Center after the sexual encounter. "So at this point you can't deny it, you can't deny fraternization," Graf said Tuesday. "So now hours later when her supervisor contacts her again, now we are going to cry rape. Because it is the only way she can explain the sexual encounter and not get in trouble." Rodriguez enlisted in the National Guard in August 2021 and was required to pass physical requirements for basic training. By the 2023 incident, Rodriguez still had not completed basic training, Graf said. Graf said that in Rodriguez's phone and investigation showed that the airman believed that "being labeled as a rape victim will get her out of certain military requirements." Rodriguez had four partners within the military, including an Air National Guard recruiter, before and after she signed documents saying she would not have sex with her recruiter. While she did release the names of the individuals, Graf said Rodriguez was in a relationship up to three days before the January 2023 incident with Pervez. Graf called Pervez the victim in this case, talking about his service in the military and overseas. Graf added that Pervez should have been reprimanded for the fraternization, and has been harassed by sympathizers of Rodriguez's story. "They stalk him online, they call his job, (and) they trash his name and reputation. For what?" Graf said. "That is what Fahad Pervez has been through. It's disgusting and it is irreprehensible." Rodriguez raised more than $20,673 on GoFundMe because of the January 2023 incident, according to Graf. The district attorney said that "every single person that donated to the campaign should be asking for their money back." Graf did not take questions from the media after the press event Tuesday, saying she would take follow-up questions from the media via email. When asked if she was not taking questions during the event because of social media campaigns against Graf, the district attorney said no. "I could have responded to that over the last however many months and I chose not to," she said. "My job is to do my job, and to get justice for a victim, which we did in this case." Graf added that she felt that some media coverage was not accurate in this case, but did not give any examples or name any outlets before leaving the event. Rodriguez and her attorney's were not at Tuesday's press event. Rodriguez's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20 before Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas Judge Charles Jones Jr. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon County PA DA: Rodriguez's lies about rape 'disgusting'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pier Hess Graf wins Republican primary for Lebanon Co. DA, will likely serve another term
Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf will likely serve another term after winning the Republican primary Tuesday night. With all 60 precincts reporting in and mail-in votes counted, Graf received 2,437 votes while senior public defender Michael Light II received 1,394 votes. No one ran on the Democratic ticket. 'The most humbling moment of my life was taking the oath as Lebanon County's District Attorney – to have the responsibility of protecting the community where I was born and raised,' Graf said when she announced her re-election campaign. According to a release by Graf in December, she took 105 defendants to trial during her 15-year career as a local prosecutor. Since becoming District Attorney in 2020, Graf claims she has a 100% conviction rate, and secured first-degree guilty verdicts in each homicide case she personally tried. As Lebanon County District Attorney, Graf presided over several high profile cases, including against Kimberly Maurer, who was convicted for the torture and murder of 11-year-old Maxwell Schollenberger. 'Our trial team spent years preparing for this trial. Every day, we sifted through evidence and listened to witnesses who detailed the cruelty and utter depravity that was Maxwell's all-too-short life," Graf said. "Knowing his killers will die in prison and never hurt a child again is one of the most meaningful accomplishments in my career." Graf also oversaw the investigation into the shooting death of Lebanon city police Lt. William Lebo in 2022. Lebo died in a shootout with a man who had broken into a home on the 1100 block of Forest Street. 'Being a prosecutor defines me to my core. I've spent my career in court aggressively facing heinous, violent, amoral criminals who preyed upon the innocent people of our community,' she said in her announcement release. The Pennsylvania 2025 municipal election is scheduled for Nov. 4. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Pier Hess Graf wins Republican nomination for Lebanon Co. DA
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lebanon County DA race: Why Pier Hess Graf and Michael Light will face off again on Nov. 4
Incumbent Pier Hess Graf and senior public defender Michael Light II will square off again in the general election for Lebanon County District Attorney. The Lebanon County Commissioners, who serve as the election board, voted to cumulate the variations of write-in votes for Light, making him eligible to be on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for the district attorney race in the November election. No candidate officially ran on the Democratic ticket for Tuesday's primary. According to county officials, 100 write-in votes are required to secure the nomination. After the commissioners voted to count all the variations of his name, Light had 263 write-in votes. "I'm looking at this list of 13 Mike Light, 97 for Michael Light II, 53 for Michael Light, 12 for Michael J. Light and 88 for Michael J. Light II," Commissioner Michael Kuhn said at the meeting. "In my opinion, they are all trying to vote for the same person." Light filed a request with the election board to cumulate the write-in votes for the Democratic nomination, according to county solicitor Matthew Bugli. Neither Light nor Graf appeared at Friday's election board meeting. "(Light) indicated in his petition that he is the only licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the name of Michael Light, and obviously one of the requirements for district attorney is that you be a licensed attorney," Bugli told the board. Bugli added that a letter will be sent to Light to accept of reject that nomination. In an email to the Lebanon Daily News, Light said he plans to accept the board's decision to cumulate the votes and "represent the people of Lebanon County no matter what form of political status." "This race is not about politics," he wrote. "This race is about the will of the people and their need for change when it comes to the office of the district attorney. Right now I'm the only one seeking that change. I want to bring integrity back to the office. I will not give people reasons to report me to the disciplinary board. I will effectuate justice no matter what race, political background, social status, or any other factors. Everyone will be treated the same and be shown respect." Light added that he is "looking forward to unifying the practice of law in Lebanon County to be similar in the surrounding counties and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." He also appreciates all the votes and support from the Democratic Party. "I hope Republicans, independents, Democrats, and all other political parties vote for me and the change to the administration of the office of the district attorney," he said. Graf won on the Republican ticket during Tuesday's primary with 2,437 votes, according to unofficial results. Light received 1,394 votes. Speaking about her win Friday morning before the election board meeting, Graf thanked the Lebanon community for her election win. "It's four more years of keeping people safe putting bad guys behind bars and deporting illegal criminals," she said. Graf said she treats the running of a campaign the same way she treats a trial: it's a competition. "When you go into it, you're going to prepare, you're going to work very hard, and you're going to do everything that you can to win," she said. "So in a trial, you are trying to fight for your victim and for your community. When it comes to the campaign, I'm fighting for the ability to continue to do this job that I love, and that I truly feel that I was born to do this." Graf received 69 write-in votes in the Democratic primary. The general election will be held on Nov. 4. York Daily Record reporter Teresa Boeckel contributed to this story. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon County DA candidate Michael Light wins Democratic nomination
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Tennis-List of French Open women's singles champions
PARIS, - List of French Open women's singles champions: 2024 Iga Swiatek beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 2023 Swiatek beat Karolina Muchova 6-2 5-7 6-4 2022 Swiatek beat Coco Gauff 6-1 6-3 2021 Barbora Krejcikova beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 2020 Swiatek beat Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-1 2019 Ashleigh Barty beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-3 2018 Simona Halep beat Sloane Stephens 3-6 6-4 6-1 2017 Jelena Ostapenko beat Halep 4-6 6-4 6-3 2016 Garbine Muguruza beat Serena Williams 7-5 6-4 2015 Serena Williams beat Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-7 6-2 2014 Maria Sharapova beat Halep 6-4 6-7 6-4 2013 Serena Williams beat Sharapova 6-4 6-4 2012 Sharapova beat Sara Errani 6-3 6-2 2011 Li Na beat Francesca Schiavone 6-4 7-6 2010 Schiavone beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 7-6 2009 Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Dinara Safina 6-4 6-2 2008 Ana Ivanovic beat Safina 6-4 6-3 2007 Justine Henin beat Ivanovic 6-1 6-2 2006 Henin beat Kuznetsova 6-4 6-4 2005 Henin beat Mary Pierce 6-1 6-1 2004 Anastasia Myskina beat Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2 2003 Henin beat Kim Clijsters 6-0 6-4 2002 Serena Williams beat Venus Williams 7-5 6-3 2001 Jennifer Capriati beat Clijsters 1-6 6-4 12-10 2000 Pierce beat Conchita Martinez 6-2 7-5 1999 Steffi Graf beat Martina Hingis 4-6 7-5 6-2 1998 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario beat Monica Seles 7-6 0-6 6-2 1997 Iva Majoli beat Hingis 6-4 6-2 1996 Graf beat Sanchez-Vicario 6-3 6-7 10-8 1995 Graf beat Sanchez-Vicario 7-5 4-6 6-0 1994 Sanchez-Vicario beat Pierce 6-4 6-4 1993 Graf beat Mary-Joe Fernandez 4-6 6-2 6-4 1992 Seles beat Graf 6-2 3-6 10-8 1991 Seles beat Sanchez-Vicario 6-3 6-4 1990 Seles beat Graf 7-6 6-4 1989 Sanchez-Vicario beat Graf 7-6 3-6 7-5 1988 Graf beat Natasha Zvereva 6-0 6-0 1987 Graf beat Martina Navratilova 6-4 4-6 8-6 1986 Chris Evert-Lloyd beat Navratilova 2-6 6-3 6-3 1985 Evert-Lloyd beat Navratilova 6-3 6-7 7-5 1984 Navratilova beat Evert-Lloyd 6-3 6-1 1983 Evert-Lloyd beat Mima Jausovec 6-1 6-2 1982 Navratilova beat Andrea Jaeger 7-6 6-1 1981 Hana Mandlikova beat Sylvia Hanika 6-2 6-4 1980 Evert-Lloyd beat Virginia Ruzici 6-0 6-3 1979 Evert-Lloyd beat Wendy Turnbull 6-2 6-0 1978 Virginia Ruzici beat Jausovec 6-2 6-2 1977 Jausovec beat Florenta Mihai 6-2 6-7 6-1 1976 Sue Barker beat Renata Tomanova 6-2 0-6 6-2 1975 Evert-Lloyd beat Martina Navratilova 2-6 6-2 6-1 1974 Evert-Lloyd beat Olga Morozova 6-1 6-2 1973 Margaret Court beat Evert-Lloyd 6-7 7-6 6-4 1972 Billie-Jean King beat Evonne Goolagong 6-3 6-3 1971 Goolagong beat Helen Gourlay 6-3 7-5 1970 Court beat Helga Niessen 6-2 6-4 1969 Court beat Ann Jones 6-1 4-6 6-3 1968 Nancy Richey beat Jones 5-7 6-4 6-1* 1967 Francoise Durr beat Lesley Turner 4-6 6-3 6-4 1966 Jones beat Richey 6-3 6-1 1965 Turner beat Court 6-3 6-4 1964 Court beat Maria Bueno 5-7 6-1 6-2 1963 Turner beat Jones 2-6 6-3 7-5 1962 Court beat Turner 6-3 3-6 7-5 1961 Anne Haydon beat Yola Ramirez 6-2 6-1 1960 Darlene Hard beat Ramirez 6-3 6-4 1959 Christine Truman beat Zsuzsi Kormoczi 6-4 7-5 1958 Kormoczy beat Shirley Bloomer 6-4 1-6 6-2 1957 Bloomer beat Dorothy Knode 6-1 6-3 1956 Althea Gibson beat Angela Mortimer 6-0 12-10 1955 Mortimer beat Knode 2-6 7-5 10-8 1954 Maureen Connolly beat Ginette Bucaille 6-4 6-1 1953 Connolly beat Doris Hart 6-2 6-4 1952 Hart beat Shirley Fry 6-4 6-4 1951 Fry beat Hart 6-3 3-6 6-3 1950 Hart beat Patricia Todd 6-4 4-6 6-2 1949 Margaret Osborne du Pont beat Landry 7-5 6-2 1948 Landry beat Fry 6-2 0-6 6-0 1947 Todd beat Hart 6-3 3-6 6-4 1946 Du Pont beat Pauline Betz 1-6 8-6 7-5 1940-45 No competition 1939 Simonne Mathieu beat Jadwiga Jedrzejowska 6-3 8-6 1938 Mathieu beat Landry 6-0 6-3 1937 Hilde Sperling beat Mathieu 6-2 6-4 1936 Sperling beat Mathieu 6-3 6-4 1935 Sperling beat Mathieu 6-2 6-1 1934 Margaret Scriven beat Helen Jacobs 7-5 4-6 6-1 1933 Scriven beat Mathieu 6-2 4-6 6-4 1932 Helen Moody beat Mathieu 7-5 6-1 1931 Cilly Aussem beat Betty Nuthall 8-6 6-1 1930 Moody beat Jacobs 6-2 6-1 1929 Moody beat Mathieu 6-3 6-4 1928 Moody beat Eileen Bennett 6-1 6-2 1927 Kornelia Bouman beat Irene Peacock 6-2 6-4 1926 Suzanne Lenglen beat Mary Browne 6-1 6-0 1925 Lenglen beat Kathleen McKane 6-1 6-2** 1924 Dida Vlasto beat Jeanne Vaussard 6-2 6-3 1923 Lenglen beat Germaine Golding 6-1 6-4 1922 Lenglen beat Golding 6-4 6-0 1921 Lenglen beat Golding 1920 Lenglen beat Marguerite Broquedis 6-1 7-5 1915-1919 No competition 1914 Marguerite Broquedis beat Lenglen 5-7 6-4 6-3 1913 Broquedis beat Jeanne Matthey 6–3 6–3 1912 Matthey beat Marie Danet 6–2 7–5 1911 Matthey beat Broquedis 6–2 7–5 1910 Matthey beat Germaine Regnier 1–6 6–1 9–7 1909 Matthey beat Abeille Villard Gallay 10–8 6–4 1908 Kate Gillou-Fenwick beat A. Pean 6–2 6–2 1907 Comtesse de Kermel beat Catherine d'Aliney d'Elva 6-0 6-1 1906 Kate Gillou-Fenwick beat Virginia MacVeagh 1905 Gillou beat Yvonne de Pfeffel 6–0 11–9 1904 Gillou beat Adine Masson 1903 Masson beat Gillou 6-0 6-8 6-0 1902 Masson beat P. Girod 6–0 6–1 1901 P. Girod beat Leroux 6–1 6–1 1900 Yvonne Prevost wins uncontested 1899 Masson wins uncontested 1898 Masson wins uncontested 1897 Masson beat P. Girod 6-3 6-1 *The Championships became an Open event in 1968, as professional players were allowed to compete with amateurs for the first time. **Competitions prior to 1925 were open only to French tennis
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Jessica's Law' aims to expand charges that qualify for death penalty in Pennsylvania
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Representative announced plans for legislation that would expand the charges that qualify a defendant for the death penalty. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Zachary Mako (R-Leigh, Northampton), was named 'Jessica's Law,' after Jessica Padgett, who was shot in the back of her head by her step-father, Gregory Graf in 2014. He then sexually abused her corpse while using two video cameras to record his actions, according to the bill. Graf was sentenced to the maximum punishment under Pennsylvania law, life in prison without the possibility of parole. In order to pursue the death penalty, prosecutors would have needed to find an 'aggravating factor' in addition to the murder itself. Now, Graf resides in the state prison in Fayette County. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Mako's legislation would amend the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to include the desecration or mutilation of a corpse as an aggravating circumstance that, in turn, may qualify a defendant for the death penalty in the Commonwealth. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ -
