A jury on Thursday found Casper businessman Tony Cercy not guilty on 2 of three sexual assault charges at the end of a seven-day trial, and a mistrial was declared on the third..

He was found not guilty on count 1, first degree sexual assault, not guilty on count 2, second degree sexual assault, and on the 3rd count, third degree sexual assault, a mistrial was declared.

A mistrial means the state can refile the case in 15 days.

Third-degree sexual assault is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years.

District Attorney Mike Blonigen declined to comment after the verdict, saying the case is still pending.

Cercy defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Jeffrey Pagliuca declined to comment.

Cercy himself left the building surrounded by friends and Mackey.

 

The jury deliberated for a day and a half before reaching its verdict in the case that began when law enforcement received a report from the alleged victim and her family on Wednesday, June 28, about an incident at Cercy's house at Alcova Lake the previous weekend.

Cercy was arrested July 28, and was charged with:

  • One count of first-degree sexual assault (rape), when the perpetrator "knew or reasonably should have known that the victim was physically helpless and that the victim had not consented," which is punishable by between five and 50 years of imprisonment.
  • One count of second-degree sexual assault (intrusion) "by means that prevent resistance by a victim," which is punishable by between two years to 20 years of imprisonment.
  • One count of sexual contact "without inflicting sexual intrusion and without causing serious bodily injury," which is punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment.

Court records say the alleged victim told a Natrona County Sheriff's investigator she, her boyfriend, friends and acquaintances arrived at Alcova Lake on the evening of June 23 and spend the next day at the lake. She was drinking heavily and passed out on the rear deck of a boat at Sandy Beach.

On Saturday evening, they went to another location and about 9:45 p.m. went to a residence on Cedar Drive North owned by Cercy.

She said she went into the residence and passed out on the couch in the middle of the living room.

She woke up, looked down and saw Cercy performing oral sex. She pushed him away and asked what he was doing, and he responded he was trying to "'get some action'" from her for the last hour with his "'tongue and "d---,'" according to the affidavit.

Nearly all of her clothing had been removed and Cercy was naked from the waist down, according to the affidavit.

The alleged victim said he gave her a ride to a friend's place at the Alcova Trailer Park and threatened to kill her and himself, according to court records.

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