Montco Commissioner Faces Rape Accusation From 1990 — A Montgomery County woman is accusing county commissioner Vice Chairman Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. and another man, of drugging and raping her in 1990, while they were students at Montgomery County Community College. Pauline Braccio of Towamencin Township says the rape occurred while they were on a student government retreat in Pike County in the Poconos.
Lawrence would have been 18 at the time.
She accused Lawrence to his face at the Sept. 9 Montco Commissioners meeting, video below.
Ms. Braccio signed an affidavit, published below, notarized by Joseph Ronald Ceccola on Oct. 10.
We have redacted the last name and home town of the other man as he is a private citizen, has not been charged with anything, and was not mentioned in Ms. Braccio’s public comments.
Ms. Braccio says she was inspired to come forth by the MeToo Movement.
She says she reported the matter to State Police in Pike County last June 25, speaking to Trooper Cabets. She also said she was interviewed by the FBI on Nov. 2. She said the FBI and Pike County District Attorney Raymond J. Tonkin told her the matter couldn’t be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had passed.
She says she plans on attending these meetings until Lawrence resigns.
“I will go to every meeting because I want him to look at my face,” she said.
As of 3 p.m., Lawrence did not respond to a morning email for a comment.
Here is Ms. Braccio’s affidavit:
Here is Ms. Braccio’s appearance before the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 9.
Bill, if you are going to post video from my blog, it would be courteous if you included the link to my original post.
https://montcoscrap.com/2019/03/24/believesomewomen/?fbclid=IwAR3Y7GJnhmuofAb3rBPeLtOEPFQphQBKNvV-OCc0OxignHCbvHipW0yis94
I am Pauline Braccio, the woman who was raped by Ken Lawrence, Jr. Since I made the statement in that commissioners meeting last September, I have been trying to get what happened to me put in the media so that the residents, and those who will vote, will know the truth about Ken Lawrence.
The next time I spoke publicly was this past April 9th, at the town hall in Upper Merion Twp Bldg. When I brought up the rape, the same thing that you saw in the video above happened again. The next two town halls were uneventful. I did not mention the rape at those.
Tonight, May 6, was the last town hall at Arcadia University. I was told by a woman who identified herself as head of public safety that I was uninvited. Even though I was not doing anything but standing in line to get in, she kept insisting I had to leave. I said the meeting is open to the public. She said it was on private property and she had orders to keep me out. She said a letter had been emailed to me. (OK, I am archaic, but I do not have a smart phone and the only way I can see email is when I am on my desktop.) I said I never saw an email. She asked me, “How did you know it was emailed?” I told her she just said so. (Really?) The police were called. No, I was not arrested. We had extensive conversation and I let the police walk me out to my car.
Here is the letter that was given to me and that I opened in my email when I got home.
Ms. Braccio,
This letter is to inform you that you will not be permitted to attend this evening’s
“Conversations with the Commissioners” event at Arcadia University. We do not take this
action lightly, however your recent erratic and disruptive behavior, paired with the
comments you have recently made to County staff regarding this one specific event, have
raised security concerns that cannot be overlooked in this day and age. In particular, your
comments regarding how you are preparing a surprise for this event, particularly when
paired with your comments that you will not allow yourself to be escorted out of a building
again, raise significant safety concerns for those who may be in attendance. After
discussions with local law enforcement and campus public safety personnel, it was
determined that insufficient safeguards exist to warrant the potential risk.
You remain able to attend public Commissioner’s meetings at One Montgomery
Plaza. Provided that you abide by the decorum requirements and are not disruptive to the
proceedings, you are free to continue to provide public comment. However, please be
aware that, should you behave in a disruptive manner as you have at previous events,
security personnel will be required to escort you from these meetings.
Sincerely,
By: ____(Josh Stein signature here)__________
Joshua M. Stein
County Solicitor
Montgomery County Solicitor’s Office
One Montgomery Plaza
Suite 800
Norristown, PA 19404-0311
Phone: 610-278-3033
Fax: 610-278-3069
JStein1@montcopa.org
They were so terrified of me tonight, but I am still allowed to attend the regular meetings. That is because they can edit the video? Or because you have to go through security?
By the way, I did mention Ken’s partner in the video. They edited the tape by blurring my mouth and silencing it. I was not swearing.