Instead of pleading guilty Wednesday in Schuylkill County Court, a Berks County man decided to go to trial on charges that he raped a woman last September in a Frackville apartment.
Brandon M. Heisey, 30, of Reading, still faces charges of rape, sexual assault, indecent exposure, simple assault and two counts of indecent assault.
"Why should I plead guilty to something I'm not guilty of?" Heisey asked President Judge William E. Baldwin, who had been scheduled to accept his plea.
Baldwin then allowed Heisey to withdraw his plea. Prosecutors did not object to Heisey withdrawing his plea.
The earliest Heisey's case could be tried is in the February criminal court term, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 3.
Frackville borough police have charged Heisey with raping the woman about 9 a.m. Sept. 27 in his former apartment. The alleged victim had lived there with Heisey and his family, police said.
Police said the woman was examined at Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street after the incident and found to have bruises on her arms and legs.
At Heisey's Nov. 20 preliminary hearing, the woman testified that the defendant pulled her into his daughter's bedroom, held down her hands and arms and raped her. She denied having a consensual sexual relationship with Heisey.
Heisey remains in Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of posting $25,000, which is 10 percent of his $250,000 percentage bail.