Asbury pleads guilty in two rape cases
Jun. 11—A Meadville teenager has pleaded guilty in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas to raping two women nearly three years ago.
Shiheim N. Asbury, 19, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of rape in two separate cases filed by Meadville Police Department.
Asbury, who was 16 at the time of the crimes, was charged by police with brandishing a gun in raping one woman on June 17, 2018. He also was charged with raping another woman on July 7, 2018.
The plea agreement with Asbury also has an agreed-upon sentence of 10 to 20 years, John Kulzer III, an assistant district attorney, told the court.
In exchange for Asbury's guilty pleas to the two rape charges, the Crawford County District Attorney's Office won't prosecute all the other charges filed against him in each case, according to Kulzer.
Kulzer told President Judge John Spataro that both victims had been consulted and agreed to the plea bargain.
"Yeah," Asbury responded each time when asked by Spataro if he had committed the crimes.
Asbury wasn't in the the courtroom, but appeared via videoconference from the Crawford County Correctional Facility where he has been held since his arrest in October 2019.
He remains jailed in lieu of $200,000 bond awaiting sentencing scheduled for Aug. 24 before Spataro.
A separate hearing will be scheduled prior to the sentencing to determine whether Asbury would have to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life since he was a juvenile when he committed the crimes.
Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
