Seven days before the second anniversary of the rape and attempted murder of a Penn State graduate student, State College man Michael A. Kuhn was convicted of the crimes Friday.
After a three-hour deliberation, a jury found Kuhn, 32, guilty on more than 20 counts including criminal attempt to commit murder, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, criminal trespass, terroristic threats, indecent assault, simple assault, false imprisonment and recklessly endangering another person.
The woman -- who recounted for the court the "horrors she went through" during the hour-long July 2007 assault in her apartment -- is very "relieved," Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said.
"We are thrilled this guy is off the street and will be off the street for a long time," Madeira said.
Kuhn, who the woman described as having short black hair, bad teeth and smoke on his breath, according to court documents, lived 750 feet away from the victim, in the basement of his grandmother's home. A Penn State graduate student, the woman was asleep on that early Independence Day morning in her McCormick Avenue apartment.
She awoke to blinding pain and the scent of blood from the first of several blows to her head Kuhn was to give, according to court documents.
Defense attorney Ed Blanarik said his client was in "a state of shock" after the jury announced its decision, and the defense maintains Kuhn's innocence.
It's "more than likely" that he will file an appeal, Blanarik said, but he has to wait until after Kuhn's Aug. 18 sentencing to appeal the jury's decision, the sentence or both.
However, Blanarik said the case was an "uphill battle" from the start, as the prosecution had DNA evidence linking Kuhn to the rape, and there is only a one in 177 trillion chance it was not his semen, he said.
"When you can say the chances of this matching someone other than Mr. Kuhn equals more human beings ever on the planet over the course of time, that's a pretty damning piece of evidence," Madeira said.
Kuhn tied the woman's hands and feet with tape and her night-lamp cord and told her he was going to rob her, according to court documents. He began taking the comforter off the bed and said, "Can I get a feel?" according to court documents.
The woman, lying face down, then heard him unzipping his pants before he draped a cloth over her and proceeded to rape her three times vaginally and sodomize her once, according to court documents.
Kuhn then hit her over the head about five times, causing cuts so deep the victim's skull was exposed, according to court documents.
The 32-year-old was arrested in August 2007 after he was caught looking inside a woman's window on Apple Alley. Kuhn was sentenced to five to 12 months in prison in connection with the loitering and prowling charges. This incident helped police link Kuhn to the graduate student's rape and attempted murder.
Two years of uncertainty have come to an end for the victim. She "appreciated seeing justice actually done," Madeira said.
Kuhn now faces anywhere from 25 to more than 150 years in prison for his crimes, Madeira said.
