Casper Businessman Lake House Guests Recall Seeing Alleged Sex Assault Victim
A 10-second video shown in Natrona County District Court on Wednesday revealed a passed-out young woman being heckled by people including the Casper businessman accused of sexually assaulting her at his Alcova lake house in June.
The video was introduced as evidence on the third day of the six-day trial of Tony Cercy, who is charged with first-degree sexual assault (rape), second- and third-degree sexual assault.
If convicted on all counts, he faces between seven and 85 years of imprisonment.
Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen called several people to testify about their activities during Saturday, June 24, when they arrived at Cercy's lake house at 23243 Cedar Drive North sometime between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Several said they had dinner and drinks at the Casper Boat Club, and a couple received messages from Cercy to join him at his house. (The house is owned by a Cercy company called Spare Bedroom, LLC, according to Wyoming Secretary of State records.)
Blonigen showed pictures of the outside of house, where they parked and pointed out Cercy's boat.
Casper Police Detective John Hatcher said he chatted with some of the 20-25 young people on the deck, because he remembered them from his days as a police resource officer at local high schools.
He went inside the house where several other couples were, he said.
Hatcher had never met Cercy, nor did he talk with him that evening, he said.
Blonigen also referred him and others to pictures of the interior. They pointed to where they were seated or standing, and pointed to where Cercy was sitting on the rock ledge of a fireplace.
They also saw the alleged victim sleeping on a couch, and most said they didn't know who she was.
Tony's wife, Caryl, asked the young people to leave, and of them didn't know whether to arouse the sleeping woman or leave her there. They left without her.
The older adults, some with children watching a movie in the master bedroom, continued talking.
At some point, a person not identified by the attorneys took a short video with a cell phone.
Witnesses identified some of the voices in the video including one who yelled "(li)ck her face," some yelling the young woman's name, one yelling "hold it down shut the f--- up," and Tony Cercy twice shouting "hey hottie."
The only movement they saw was when a dog licked the young woman on the right side of her face and then she turned her head against the couch. One guest said the dog did not bark, nor did he hear other dogs barking.
One guest, Eric Alberts, director of Cercy's former company Power Service, said he'd known Tony Cercy for a long time. "I know what he sounds like when he's been drinking."
They said they left the house by about 1 a.m.
The trial resumes at the Townsend Justice Center at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.