May 25—WILKES-BARRE — A Luzerne County jury on Thursday convicted a Carbondale man of raping an ex-girlfriend inside her dormitory room at Misericordia University in 2021.
Jesse John Krzan, 26, adamantly denied he raped the woman telling the jury he was there to help her after she suffered a concussion on April 29, 2021.
But after hearing evidence that Krzan’s non-semen DNA was recovered from the woman’s body cavity, the jury found him guilty on charges of rape of an unconscious woman and sexual assault.
The jury deliberated for approximately 90 minutes before reaching their verdict following a three day trial before Judge David W. Lupas.
The woman testified she suffers from a medical condition that causes her to pass out due to rapid heart rate and high blood pressure. She said she met Krzan on a social media dating app in March 2021 and had a relationship with him until April 16, 2021.
Krzan, who testified in his own defense, said he broke off the relationship due to his busy work schedule and the woman’s medical condition.
When the woman fell inside a classroom and struck her head sustaining a concussion on April 29, 2021, Krzan said he was out with friends and had two alcoholic drinks with food while bowling. Krzan said the woman reached out to him but he initially ignored her message until about midnight when she asked him to come to her dorm room.
Krzan said he arrived and she let him inside the secured building with her student identification card. Once inside her room, they laid on a bed and discussed their relationship before they started kissing.
The woman told Krzan to “stop,” and he honored her wish. Shortly after, he said she had a seizure type episode and made gargling sounds from her mouth, prompting him to place a pillow behind her head and raise her chin to open her airway.
However, the woman testified she was awakened by Krzan raping her.
She was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township for a rape examination.
Dallas Township police charged Krzan after his DNA matched evidence recovered from the woman.
During her closing argument, Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Anne Elo told the jury the woman and Krzan had not seen each for three weeks.
“They did not have contact with one another from April 16 to April 29. There is no way his DNA would be found in her,” Elo told the jury. “The only way his DNA would be found in her is how (woman’s name) described what happened.”
Krzan’s attorney, Paul Walker, during his closing argument, said the DNA test from the woman’s shorts showed the profiles of two males.
Five people known to Krzan called by Walker as character witnesses said Krzan is not a violent person.
Lupas granted a request by Elo to revoke Krzan’s $50,000 unsecured bail resulting in him being jailed at the county correctional facility until his sentencing hearing on Aug. 22.
Lupas ordered an evaluation of Krzan by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if he meets the criteria as a violent sexual offender.
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