District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer reports that a Lewis Run man is charged with Conspiring to Retaliate against someone who testified against a man in a prior hearing involving Rape and Sexual Abuse of a Child.

Peter ROSS is charged with Conspiracy Retaliation (2 counts) and Conspiracy Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. The complaint accuses ROSS of conspiring with Ray COAST, who is currently being held in jail after being unable to post $3 million bail on a prior case involving hundreds of counts of Rape, Sexual Abuse of Children (Child Pornography) and Stalking, to retaliate against a victim who testified against COAST during a preliminary hearing on his prior cases. 

The two are accused of planning to contact the victim’s employer and to post things about the victim to an anonymous social media page, urging that they need the victim to be fired before his trial.  The two allegedly engaged in discussions about the plans to do things for the purpose of discrediting the victim, referencing that it will make his case that much better and his lawyer can use it and, further, they are alleged to have engaged in discussion about ways to hurt the victim’s career or his reputation.  

Following these discussions, the victim’s employer is alleged to have received materials from ROSS that were intended to hurt the victim’s employment status and another person reportedly was contacted in furtherance of the conspiracy to retaliate. ROSSD was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge William Todd who set bail on this case at $150,000.  All persons charged are presumed innocent.