Jury acquits suspect in rape trial

JOHNSTOWN - A Northampton man who was accused of raping a child was acquitted by a Fulton County Court jury Wednesday after a three-day trial.

The jury found James V. Intelisano, 46, of 222 County Highway 143, innocent of counts of third-degree rape, second-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. He had been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl and molesting two other young girls.

Intelisano was indicted by a county grand jury in July in connection with incidents that the alleged victims said occurred in 2006 at his family's horse ranch.

Intelisano was represented by attorney Brian Toal of Johnstown

Toal said today a nurse testified that an examination of the 14-year-old girl indicated no evidence that she had been sexually abused or that she had been sexually active.

"I think the prosecution, the District Attorney's Office, did the best they could, but the case had a lot of holes in it," Toal said. "The evidence was very problematic that there's things that actually occurred."

The defense attorney said some evidence presented by the prosecution may have resulted from "manipulation" by others.

Toal said his client spent time in jail as an innocent man before being bailed out. He said his client is a trucker.

Intelisano couldn't be reached this morning at the ranch.

On the other side, the prosecution also pointed to a tough case.

"I just think it was a particularly challenging case for the jury," county District Attorney Louise K. Sira said today.

The jury took about four hours before returning its verdict to County Court Judge Richard C. Giardino.

The prosecutor was Sira's Assistant District Attorney Kelli McCoski.

Sira said McCoski called six witnesses: an officer, four girls and a medical examiner. She said the defendant could have faced 2 1/3 to seven years in state prison had he been convicted of the top count of third-degree rape.

Fulton County sheriff's deputies said that among the crimes Intelisano was accused of was the rape a 14-year-old girl at his home. Deputies had claimed that in December 2006, he had sexual intercourse with the girl at the residence.

Sira said it was hard for the prosecution to pin down timeframes for some of the girls' allegations.

"It was emotionally charged for all the family members," Sira said of the case.

Michael Anich covers Fulton County and Johnstown. He can be reached at johnstown@leaderherald.com