The lawyer for a man accused of raping a Penn State student said the accuser has said she wants the charges dropped and as a result, he plans to ask for the defendant's bail to be lowered.

Casey McClain, the lawyer for State College resident Maurice Golden, 26, said the woman who accused Golden of raping her Oct. 15 in his apartment, 300 S. Atherton St., has told McClain over the telephone that she no longer wishes to pursue charges.

McClain said after he received the calls, he decided to file a motion asking a judge to further reduce Golden's bail, allowing him to get out of prison.

Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall said the accuser has not told him that she wants the charges dropped.

He said the motion states that the woman contacted McClain and told him Golden does not belong in jail and she wants the charges dropped. Marshall said the motion also states that the woman contacted Golden's family.

The woman's reason for asking to have the charges pulled was not immediately clear.

However, Marshall said the decision to drop charges is not the choice of the accuser.

"We charge each case on its own merits," Marshall said.

Golden's bail was reduced from $200,000 to $25,000 during his preliminary hearing Oct. 25. Centre County District Judge Thomas Jordan ruled that Golden would have to post $2,500 of the $25,000 to be released from prison.

Jordan also ruled at the hearing that there was enough evidence for Golden to go to trial on charges of rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate assault and simple assault.

Marshall said the arresting officer in the case has spoken to the woman since the preliminary hearing, but she did not mention dropping charges to him.

Marshall added that he would oppose any motion asking for bail to be reduced.

The accuser had told police that she got into a verbal argument with Golden at about 4:30 a.m. on Oct 15 that she originally said resulted in him straddling her on his bed and strangling her with both hands, according to court documents.

The woman then testified that Golden performed oral sex on her and raped her after she repeatedly told him "no," according to court documents.

She testified at the preliminary hearing that she spent the night at Golden's apartment and went to breakfast with him the morning after the alleged rape.

She said after she went home, she decided their relationship needed to end so she called the police and went to the hospital.

McClain said Golden said the sex was consensual.