Prisoner applies for release from prison | News, Sports, Jobs

A former Clearfield County man serving a lengthy prison sentence for repeatedly abusing a woman has filed a complaint in federal court demanding his release from a state correctional facility.

William Robert Winkelman, 52, is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution Marienville, where he is serving a 12- to 24-year sentence imposed by Clearfield County Judge Paul Cherry.

Cherry also sentenced Winkelman to three years probation after serving his prison sentence.

Winkelman was convicted after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault, aggravated assault, strangulation, terroristic threats, false imprisonment, simple assault and harassment – all crimes committed while he was in a relationship with the victim.

She told state police that Winkelman attacked her three times.

The first attack occurred on December 25, 2018, the second on February 10, 2019, and the last on January 1, 2020.

She then sought help from the state police.

She reported that during the first incident, Winkelman grabbed her by the hair and dragged her through the apartment, slamming her head into a stove, a cedar chest, a couch, the kitchen table, a garbage can and a dryer.

He ended the fight by hitting and kicking her.

During the second altercation, she stated that she suffered injuries to her neck and wrists.

In the third incident, the victim sustained injuries when he slammed her head into a bathroom mirror until it shattered. She also reported that Winkelman raped her at knifepoint during the third attack.

The victim and her daughter were able to substantiate the charges against Winkelman by presenting police photographs of the injuries taken after each incident.

Winkelman filed a federal petition last week in district court in

Johnstown on the grounds that he had not received a fair trial.

He pointed out that the jury found him not guilty of rape.

In his argument, he claims that the acquittal was a sign that the jury was divided and that his convictions were not unanimous, which is a violation of the Constitution.

Winkelman's petitions also reflected complaints he raised in his appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

In this appeal, he claimed that the people who took the photos – her daughter and a friend – had not testified and therefore the photos were not

sufficiently authenticated.

He objected to the trial judge's decision to allow the jury to view the photographs.

The state Supreme Court emphasized in its opinion that the victim testified that the photographs showing her injuries showed the injuries “fairly and accurately.”

The Supreme Court ruled that her testimony was sufficient to confirm the injuries.

He also complained that the photographs had been taken with the jury into the deliberation room and that some of the photographs contained writing… for example, one photo read “Attack of December 15th”.

The High Court found that the “captions” accompanying the photographs were harmless, and the Court of Appeal concluded that “no remedy was required.”

In his petition in federal court, Winkelman is asking the court to overturn the jury's verdicts and grant him an acquittal. He is demanding that he be released from prison.

The appeal in Winkelman's case has been assigned to Judge Keith A. Pesto in Johnstown for review.