Pena and another man, Michael Campbell, conspired to distribute information that was previously deemed inadmissible, the Morris prosecutor said.
MORRISTOWN -- A 48-year-old man who was found guilty during his second trial in a Morris County rape case this month has been accused of trying to influence the jury during that trial.
Andrew Pena, formerly of Vernon and Hewitt, was found guilty on Nov. 10 on five charges, including first-degree aggravated sexual assault.
The jury found Pena guilty of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman outside a Butler bagel shop on Route 23 after 3 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2007.
Pena had been found guilty during a previous trial in 2009, but an appeals court reversed the verdict and ordered a new trial after deciding the trial judge had allowed the jury to hear too many details of a prior sex offense Pena had committed.
During the second, recently completed trial, an investigation was undertaken of attempts by Pena to influence the jury, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric Knapp said in a statement issued Tuesday. Pena represented himself during the second trial.
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/11/man_again_found_guilty_of_raping_young_woman_outsi.html
Pena "conspired" with Michael Campbell, 44, of Wharton, to "distribute information that was previously deemed inadmissible," in an effort "to influence the jury," Knapp said.
Confidential documents provided to Pena were "duplicated, altered and then disseminated" in areas near the courthouse, Knapp said.
The investigation revealed communications between Pena and Campbell detailing their plans to give out the information, discussing how, when and where the materials would be distributed, Knapp said.
Campbell was arrested on Nov. 5 and charged with obstructing the administration of law and corrupting or influencing a jury, Knapp said.
On Tuesday, Pena was also charged with obstructing administration of law and corrupting or influencing a jury, Knapp said.
Pena, who was sentenced to nearly 28 years in prison following his first trial, was held on $300,000 bail after his conviction was reversed.
He is scheduled to be sentenced again on Dec. 4 following his conviction in the second trial.
No date has been set for a court appearance on the new charges, Knapp said.
During the second trial, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Schellhorn told the jury that Pena told the young woman to move her car to an isolated area, and later went there and assaulted her. The woman had waited in the car while her friends went inside the shop.
Pena acknowledged he had been at the bagel shop that night, but said he was the victim of a mistaken identity and someone else had assaulted the woman.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.