Charges dropped in disabled assault case

PAOLI, Pa. - October 23, 2009

Bryan Parks, 54, was released from custody on Friday morning and is now a free man.

Prosecutors tell Action News they "couldn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."

The attack happened inside an Acme supermarket in Paoli around 3:30 p.m. on August 8th.

In the criminal complaint, the 40-year-old victim told investigators he was in the bathroom when he heard a knock and a man's voice say he needed to use the restroom immediately. The victim said he exchanged a few words with his attacker and tried to leave.

The victim told police that's when the man pulled him back into the bathroom by his wheelchair, forcibly removed him from the chair and raped and assaulted him over a period of five minutes.

The victim's caregiver was a woman, and was waiting outside the restroom when the attack occured.

Police say the victim was too embarassed to tell his caretaker what happened after the attack, which is why it came to light more than a month later.

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