Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Arthur Henderson Awaits Sentence in Rapes of Three Women in Ross, Hopewell

After representing himself during his trial, the convicted rapist is scheduled to be sentenced in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

Convicted rapist Arthur Lamont Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced March 26 after a jury  found him guilty of raping three women in Ross and Hopewell townships.

Jurors deliberated for less than four hours before returning a verdict, ending an unusual trial in which Henderson acted as his own attorney and cross-examined his victims as well as the police officers who arrested him, according to thePittsburgh Post-Gazette.

During closing arguments in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Henderson claimed he was framed while the prosecution said it had proven its case beyond any doubt.

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The Ross Township rapes were reported Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Woodhawk Club Apartments complex on Johnanna Drive and on Monday, Jan. 9, at the Cascades Apartment complex off Cemetery Lane. 

The Hopewell rape occurred Jan. 7—the same morning as the first attack in Ross.

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Henderson said during closing arguments that the prosecution did not have one piece of physical evidence against him. He said the rape accusations were a lie and the case was a frame-up, according to a WTAE report.

The 39-year-old North Side man said his DNA, which was presented by the prosecution, proved only that he had sex with the women and that the presence of his DNA was not a crime, WTAE reported.

In her closing argument, prosecutor Laura Ditka said the case has been "proven beyond any and all doubt," the Post-Gazette reports.

 

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