Police drop rape charges against North Apollo man after accuser recants

Kiski Township police dropped rape charges against Jordan Michael Coleman of North Apollo after the alleged victim confessed she made up the allegations.

Coleman was arrested and jailed after accusations that he choked, assaulted and raped an estranged girlfriend on Oct. 28 in North Apollo during an argument that started over his missing cellphone.

Almost two months later, police charged Coleman’s ex-girlfriend, Brazel Laura Beer, 25, of Kittanning, with filing a false report to law enforcement authorities, access device fraud, theft, and receiving stolen property.

Police filed Beer’s charges Dec. 21 in District Judge James Andring’s court. She will be notified via summons through the mail, Kiski Township police said.

“My client declared his innocence from day one and that the story (by Beer) was fabricated,” said Duke George, Coleman’s attorney. “It took a big toll on him. It was a tough time for him and his family. He is glad it is all behind him now.”

Coleman’s Jan. 19 preliminary hearing scheduled before Andring has been canceled because police dropped the charges of rape, strangulation, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and lesser charges. Within a week of his arrest, Coleman posted a $25,000 bond and was released from the Armstrong County Jail on Nov. 4.

After he was released, Coleman called the police to report that Beer had stolen his cellphone, according to a criminal complaint.

He told police Beer got into his social media accounts and bank accounts and took $100. Coleman provided police with a GPS tracking report of his cellphone that included a Lower Burrell restaurant where Beer worked, the complaint said.

Coleman also told police he had proof, an audio recording, that Beer’s story about the rape was false. Coleman’s mother has a video camera in the home that could pick up audio where the argument with Beer occurred, the complaint said.

Police listened to the recording and found that Beer was the aggressor in the argument, according to police records.

Police then questioned Beer again and she confessed she was angry when she took Coleman’s phone, according to the complaint.

She told police that she lied about the rape and was fearful of being homeless, the complaint said.

Beer was upset with Coleman because she found photographs of another woman on his cellphone, she told police.

Beer admitted to taking Coleman’s cellphone and throwing it away and to taking $100 from one of Coleman’s accounts, according to the complaint.