Photos back up teens’ accounts
Prosecution shows explicit images to jurors in Holpit trial
Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County prosecutors presented explicit photos and videos in court Wednesday to back up the testimony of teenagers who police say were enticed into sexual activity with a Tyrone man who was their marijuana source.
Paul Robert Holpit, 26, frequently shook his head "no" in court on Wednesday as two sisters -- the last of 10 female victims -- testified about their sexual interactions with Holpit in 2021 and early 2022.
The older sister, now 19, said she was 16 years old when she was buying marijuana from Holpit, who offered extra marijuana in exchange for nude photos and oral sex, then started talking about having sex with her younger sister.
"He asked me if it would be all right with him taking my 12-year-old sister's virginity for $40," the older sister told the jury. Then he started sending photos of himself, naked from the waist down, to the younger sister.
"She showed them to me," the 19-year-old woman said.
A short time later in the trial, the jury was looking at photos of a man's penis that came from Holpit's cellphone, according to Tyrone Police Det. Chad Weaver. The officer testified that the photos were taken in Holpit's room, based on the bedding and wall color.
In cross-examination, defense attorney Joseph Addink pointed out that the man's face isn't visible and suggested that it could be Holpit's brother.
Closing arguments are scheduled this morning in the trial where the jury is expected to render verdicts on Holpit's charges that include multiple counts of human trafficking, solicitation of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, dissemination of explicit sexual materials to a minor, possession of child pornography, solicitation of child pornography, criminal use of a communications device and possession with intent to deliver.
Wednesday's witnesses included Barbara Ziv of Philadelphia, a forensic psychologist with expertise in working with sex offenders and victims.
While Ziv testified as a blind expert -- with little knowledge about the Holpit case -- she told the jury that sex trafficking cases involving minors often begin when minors are lured into what they perceive as safe relationships, then develop into situations involving manipulation and coercion.
To address Addink's claim that the teenagers are making up the allegations, First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith asked Ziv for clarity on the amount of false claims. According to Ziv, studies indicate it's about the same as any other crime, ranging from 2% to 8%.
"So how common would it be to have 10 victims come forward and describe the same pattern of behavior?" Smith asked.
Ziv answered by recalling the allegations of child sexual abuse victims against former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky and against Catholic priests.
"They described a pattern of behavior that is remarkably similar," Ziv said.
Weaver, who filed the charges against Holpit, said the investigation developed after one of the 10 female victims disclosed to police and to a Tyrone Area High School employee that she and others were getting marijuana from Holpit in exchange for sexual activity and photos.
When that woman, now 19, testified Tuesday, she recalled why she spoke up.
"I found out that (Holpit) was trying to sleep with a 12-year-old," she said.
That same woman also revealed Tuesday that Holpit sent cellphone photos of his penis to her. But she never saved those photos, she said.
Weaver's testimony also addressed additional photographs removed from Holpit's cellphone, including one showing Holpit holding a bunch of marijuana buds next to his head. The bunch was about the same size as Holpit's head. That and other marijuana photos were deemed to have been temporarily posted online via a Snapchat computer application and with the acronym, HMU, for hit me up.
"It's an advertisement for marijuana," Weaver explained.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.