A man accused of beating and sexually assaulting another man with a broom handle in Frankford in 2010 has been ordered committed for two months to the Philadelphia Detention Center’s forensic unit under the state’s mental health laws.
Further, Common Pleas Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper ordered on Aug. 11, Shawn Aiken will be held for 60 more days in Norristown State Hospital if he is found to be incompetent to stand trial.
Aiken has been in custody since he was arrested March 17, 2010.
Police had charged Aiken, 22, his teenage brother Harold, and Renada Williams, 30, with beating a 29-year-old Oxford Circle man for several hours on March 14 and 15, 2010. The defendants initially faced almost 30 charges, including aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and sexual assault.
During a May 2010 preliminary hearing, the victim said he had gone to a house at Church and Penn streets to see Williams and that he was naked and having sex with her when Harold Aiken, then 16, knocked on the door. When he came in, he asked the victim if he had been raping Williams before he began beating him, the victim said, adding that Shawn Aiken soon arrived and began beating him, too. He was later sexually assaulted with a broom handle, he testified.
In the 18 months since the trio’s arrests, Williams pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and Harold Aiken’s case was transferred to juvenile court. Shawn Aiken’s mental health has been evaluated several times, and he has repeatedly been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
In a phone interview on Aug. 11, Shawn Aiken’s attorney, Earl Raynor, said his client “has the mental age of a much younger person. He is very susceptible to manipulation.” He added that Aiken has hallucinations.
In April, Shawn Aiken was ordered to the Detention Center’s forensic unit for mental health evaluation for 60 days and ordered recommitted in June and July for 30 days each time. In all three previous instances, he has been found incompetent to stand trial, Raynor said.
Williams pleaded guilty on July 13 to criminal conspiracy. Assault and other charges were withdrawn, quashed or not prosecuted. She was sentenced to time served to 23 months incarceration. Five years of consecutive probation were ordered. Williams must stay away from the victim. ••
Reporter John Loftus can be reached at 215–354–3110 or jloftus@bsmphilly.com
