Charges against a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a parking lot behind Ian's Pizza, 319 N. Frances St., will be reduced to misdemeanors in accordance with the ruling of Dane County Circuit Judge Michael Nowakowski.
In a preliminary hearing Oct. 16, Nowakowski said there was insufficient evidence to merit a felony charge for Mario Orlando-Amaya, who allegedly assaulted the woman in the early morning hours of Sept. 4.
As he was taking trash out of Ian's Pizza, where he was employed at the time, Amaya allegedly came upon the victim being sexually assaulted by two men and joined in the assault after taking pictures of her with his camera phone.
Nowakowski ruled there was not enough evidence to conclude Orlando-Amaya knew he was allegedly participating in a non-consensual act.
The other two men, Marcus Bonner and Anthony Freda, were apprehended after Orlando-Amaya went to the police. He allegedly became frightened when they vocally bragged about the assault upon encountering Orlando-Amaya working at Ian's a few nights later.
Another hearing for Orlando-Amaya is scheduled for Dec. 19, and his trial is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2007.
