Woman deemed incompetent to stand trial on sexual assault charges

Criminal charges against a woman accused of performing oral sex on a 13-year-old boy were dropped Wednesday after she was ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Ashley Shipps, 22, of East Bangor was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault on a person under 16 and corruption of minors after Pittston police alleged Shipps performed oral sex on the teen several times in an apartment on Elizabeth Street.

In April, a county judge ordered an IQ test on Shipps after her attorney, Mary Deady, said her client appeared “somewhat mentally handicapped.” A psychologist examined her and found she was not competent to stand trial.

In court Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Jenny Roberts said the prosecution concurred with the findings of the report, and Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky found Shipps incompetent.

The judge asked whether she should be re-evaluated for competency at a later date, but the attorneys agreed that would not be necessary. Deady said Shipps’ condition will not improve because she is handicapped as a result of having meningitis as a child.

As a result, prosecutors dropped all charges against Shipps and the judge ordered her discharged.

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