Sep 17, 2013 2 min read

A judge plans to announce a verdict next month after hearing testimony Friday in Washington County Court in a case of indecent assault and false imprisonment of a child.

J.J. John Whipkey, 26, formerly of Allison Avenue, Washington, is accused of locking the girl, now 4, in his room in a rooming house where the assault is alleged to have occurred Nov. 4 of last year. Visiting Judge Edward Borkowski questioned the girl, who allegedly was found shirtless after the incident, about her ability to testify truthfully.

The first officer to respond to the call was Washington police Cpl. Benjamin Borkowski. “I do not know the corporal, nor does he know me,” the judge stated for the record, adding that although they share the same last name, they are not related. In court, the police officer described commotion at the scene, with people yelling and Whipkey running from the residence and leaping over a fence.

The defendant took public transportation to Pittsburgh, and Sandra Marie McCoy of Canonsburg responded to a call to meet him there in early November.

“He told me kids were running in and out of the room where he was. He locked the door. He was tired of them running in and out,” she testified.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, and after Whipkey was taken into custody, he reportedly gave his name as “Soda Pop Joe Johnson,” producing a birth certificate that appeared to have been altered. Since he was taken into custody in Washington Dec. 3, Whipkey has been held in the Washington County jail on $20,000 bond.

The judge said he plans to announce a verdict in the case when he presides in Washington County during the first week of October.