A prosecutor has dismissed charges against a Petersburg man accused of raping a woman last spring. 36-year-old Kenneth Birch was facing two felony counts of sexual assault, one in the first degree and one in the second degree. Birch was arrested May 1st, 2017 after a woman accused him of the crime.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was scheduled for a trial at the end of February. Assistant district attorney Amanda Browning dismissed the charges February 14th.
Court filings show Birch’s attorney, public defender Jay Hochberg planned to subpoena a witness from out of state who would testify that the accuser had lied about sexual assault in the past and was doing so again.
A court filing to dismiss the charges does not give any reason and the assistant DA Browning did not respond to questions about the reason for dismissal.
