Pa. landlord on trial in tenant's rape

HOLLIDAYBURG, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania landlord is on trial for charges that he raped a 24-year-old mother of two because the woman couldn’t pay her rent.

The defense attorney for 43-year-old Jeffrey Hazlett denies the charges and claims the woman’s testimony on Monday was different from previous statements to police.

The woman told a Blair County jury in Hollidaysburg that she worked in a restaurant and made money baby-sitting to try to pay her rent after her boyfriend went to prison. She says Hazlett came to her apartment on May 15 and began kissing and undressing her. She says Hazlett made her sign a piece of paper afterward, saying the sex had been consensual.

The woman says she was raped after returning from a night at a bar with a female friend.

The trial continued today.