Pocono News Section

Monroe County Rape Suspect Appears in Court

Monroe County Rape Suspect Appears in Court - Monday, February 8, 2010 at 6:30PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Monday, Feb 8, 2010 @ 06:30pm EST
SNYDERSVILLE, MONROE COUNTY - A man from the Poconos, who's accused of drugging and raping a teenage girl, was in court Monday morning.

Robert Pugh, 19, of East Stroudsburg came face-to-face with his victim at a preliminary hearing.

In court, we learned Pugh allegedly spiked the victim's milk and tea with Seroquel before raping her. Seroquel is a drug that is used to treat bi-polar disorder.

Pugh did not answer reporter's questions as he left the hearing. A judge determined all the charges against him will be forwarded onto further court action.

"In this case, the facts and allegations that are contained in the affidavit were very disturbing," Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski said. "They include allegations that this particular defendent....raped her after he had administered an intoxicant."

According to the victim, the Seroquel pills made her pass out for 16 or more hours at a time. State Police say since November, Pugh raped the girl three times. He tried several other times but the girl started to wake up.

"The family had contacted police, the girl went to the hospital and from there the police were contacted and the investigation began," Rakaczewski said.

According to court papers, the suspect also said he raped the girl when she was five years old and twice in 2005.

Pugh's defense attorney says he's going to look into all of the alleged statements to see if they have any standing.

"That's gonna be the subject of further inquiry certainly by my office and analysis, so we've got some work to do," defense attorney Wes Niemoczynski said.

Robert Pugh was originally facing charges of rape and sexual assault, but he was slapped with five new counts Monday morning. That's because he allegedly used the toxin to drug the victim.

Pugh remains locked up tonight on $100,000 bail in Monroe County.