JUDGE REJECTS REQUEST TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST FORMER LIGONIER VALLEY POLICE CHIEF

A Westmoreland County judge has rejected a request from the former Ligonier Valley Police Chief to drop sexual assault charges filed against him.  The Trib reports that John Berger was charged in May with seven counts related to sexually assaulting a patient while working at a Donegal Township addiction treatment facility.  Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio rejected a defense claim that the case against former Ligonier Valley police Chief John Berger was defective. The defense argued the facility where the alleged assault took place was not a licensed mental health treatment center and therefore two sexual assault counts should be dismissed.  Berger has been free on $100,000 bail since May. His trial is scheduled to begin in February.