On July 30th, a criminal trial involving Mateen Cleaves will begin. The trial will be surrounding a sexual assault claim from back in 2015 where Cleaves’ allegedly assaulted a woman at a Mundy Township hotel and this trial will be a continuation of that long drawn-out case.
Cleaves’ lawyer Frank Manley has a few concerns about the trial:
“My utmost concern is that we get a fair trial. That’s all I’ve ever asked is that we get a fair trial. And some of the things that we talked about here today – if there’s evidence that should come in that judges the credibility of the complainant – then I want to make sure that that evidence comes in.”
Manley requested the case to be thrown out on Friday, citing a lack of a witness list as one reason the case should be removed.
“My client has been a victim of a long, long drawn out legal campaign; and fortunately, he’s very strong and he’s very strong-minded. And the thing that gets him through, in our opinion, is the fact that he knows he’s innocent,” Manley said.
