Trial Resumes Today for Knox Man Accused of Sexually Abusing Three Children

Scott Shindledecker

Scott Shindledecker

Published March 27, 2018 4:35 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – The first day of the trial of Knox man accused of sexually abusing three children ended on Monday with him being taken from the Clarion County Courthouse by ambulance.

Chad Aaron Renninger, 34, is facing charges of indecent assault with a person less than 13 years of age, indecent assault with a person less than 16 years of age, corruption of minors, and invasion of privacy.

Renninger’s attorney, Blair Hindman, was in the early part of his closing statement to the jury when President Judge John Arner stopped the proceedings so Renninger could be taken to the hospital for what Judge Arner termed “health issues.”

When Clarion Hospital EMTs took Renninger from the courthouse on a gurney, he wasn’t having any obvious issues, but Hindman alluded to Renninger having panic attacks in the past.

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As for the trial, county Assistant District Attorney Drew Welsh called four people to the stand, including the three victims, and State Trooper Rodney Hotchkiss, who investigated the allegations and eventually brought charges against Renninger.

The first to testify was a 15-year-old girl who sobbed lightly when she said Renninger had touched her inappropriately on her breasts, buttocks and “bikini area” numerous times, including one time on Christmas Day 2010 when she was eight years old.

She testified that she had received a new phone and went upstairs to get batteries for it when Renninger got her to go into his bedroom where he got her to take off her clothes, so he could touch her.

“He told me if I ever told anyone, I’d be in trouble, not him,” she said. “He would get me to go to his bedroom by promising games or toys, but there never was anything there.”

She also testified that the assaults allegedly occurred at different times, such as holidays and during the summer for cookouts, when she was at the house where Renninger lived with his mother or where he lived his grandparents from 2009 to 2014.

The next to testify was a 16-year-old boy who lived nearby. He said the incidents occurred at his home or where Renninger lived.

The boy said the incidents happened mainly in 2009 to 2011 when he was nine or ten years old. He said they would go into the bathroom where each of them would pull down their pants and underwear and “he would make me pump him” as his voice quavered.

The boy said nothing happened when Renninger either had a girlfriend or was married.

When Welsh asked the boy about giving a brief interview to Trooper Hotchkiss after parents of the children found out and why it was several months later before the boy gave a more in-depth, written statement, he said it wasn’t easy talking to another man about what had happened.

The third victim to testify was a 15-year-old girl who was best friends with the 16-year-old boy.

She said Renninger tried to videotape her while she showered at his home and on a camping trip at a local campground.

“I didn’t do much with my family, so I’d go do things with their family,” she said.

She said on a few occasions, she would be getting ready to shower when Reddinger said he would play music for her on his tablet. She noticed a red light on the tablet and realized it was recording. She stopped it and deleted the alleged recording.

After the videotaping allegations came out, the girl said she didn’t remember a conversation between her mother and Renninger’s mother about it.

When Renninger’s mother, Cindy, testified on behalf of her son, she said the conversation never occurred.

When Welsh questioned the girl’s mother, she said she would never have let her daughter go to Virginia Beach with the Reddinger family if she had known about the videotaping.

It was on the Virginia Beach trip in the summer of 2015 when the three victims talked about what had happened, and some of the victims’ parents first learned of the incidents.

A big argument followed, then Renninger, his parents and two of the victims left the beach together two days later.

Most of Hindman’s questions centered around the confusion of when and where the incidents had taken place.

All three of the victims’ statements included discrepancies on the timing and frequency of the alleged incidents.

Hindman challenged that the incidents could have happened the way the victims portrayed them.

He also called Renninger’s mother to testify for her son.

She said that her son was never alone with any of the kids, although she worked from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day and on every other Saturday.

The trial will resume at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday as Hindman attempts to finish his closing statement.

ADA Welsh will give his closing statement, then the jury will be able to begin deliberations.

The jury is made up of 12 people, eight men and four women, including four alternates.

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