REPORT: It took only a few minutes Monday for a district judge to order William C. Byers Augusta to stand trial in Cumberland County Court on new charges linked to the rape of a 6-year-old boy that was aired over the internet.
The child rape and conspiracy counts were the third set of offenses police filed against the North Middleton Township man, who is accused of acting with an HIV-positive Harrisburg man, 61-year-old Ira Task, in orchestrating and broadcasting the assaults.
Public Defender John Shugars, who represents the 19-year-old Byers Augusta, stipulated with Assistant District Attorney Nathan Boob that an affidavit of probable cause listing the accusations against Byers Augusta correctly outlines the testimony the alleged victim would present if called to the witness stand.
That stipulation spared the child from appearing before Fegley, Shugars noted. He said both sides agreed to allow Fegley to determine whether to send the new charges on to county court based only on the information in the affidavit, although he stressed that this client wasn’t admitting guilt.
