Trial opens against Latrobe man charged with raping two teenagers

The trial in a rape case against a former Latrobe man began Tuesday morning with testimony from one of the two accusers about an encounter she had with him in 2020.

The 19-year-old woman testified that Glenn D. Jones Jr., 25, now of Hostetter, choked and raped her in his apartment when she was 15. She had gone to his apartment in May to buy marijuana from him after the two communicated on the social media site Snapchat.

While the two were sitting on his bed, Jones grabbed the girl by the neck and raped her, the plaintiff testified.

“I could hardly speak … because I just couldn’t breathe,” she said. “My neck was very strained.”

Jones is accused of rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, enticement of a minor and related offenses. He was arrested by Latrobe police in 2020 in connection with incidents involving the 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl.

The girl, who was 15 at the time, testified on Tuesday that about a month after the attack, she wanted to buy marijuana from Jones and took a friend with her to his apartment.

“I’d rather have someone with me… because of what he did to me,” she said.

In early June 2020, the two girls were drinking and smoking marijuana in Jones’ apartment when, according to court documents, police said he groped both girls separately. They immediately reported the incident to police. Jones denied touching the teens or selling them marijuana.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli said in his opening statements that jurors should consider the two girls brave for taking the stand to describe what they said happened.

Defense attorney Jaclyn Shaw said the credibility of witnesses would be crucial in the case.

“I think there are certain things that will seem strange to you in this case,” she said in her opening statement to the jury.