DeCoatsworth assault case goes to grand jury

A Philadelphia grand jury will investigate the case against Richard DeCoatsworth, the former police officer once hailed as a hero and now charged with sexually assaulting two women and holding them captive.

Word of the prosecutor's decision to use the grand jury in the case against DeCoatsworth, 27, came at a hearing Monday at which defense attorney L. George Parry asked a judge to reduce the former officer's $60 million bail.

"His bail of $60 million may be the highest bail we've ever seen in the history of the commonwealth," Parry told Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Ehrlich.

Parry said that since his arrest May 18, DeCoatsworth has been held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and "is being given what we used to call the treatment" - verbal abuse from some guards, missed meals, and, for a time, confinement without clothing.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph McGlynn asked Ehrlich to forgo a decision on bail until after the case was presented to the grand jury.

McGlynn said his office has 21 days to present the case to a grand jury for charges.

Instead, Ehrlich said he would revisit the question at a status hearing next Monday.

DeCoatsworth was arrested at his Port Richmond house after two women alleged that he threatened them with a gun and forced them to use drugs and engage in sexual activity.

Parry challenged the women's allegations and told Ehrlich they were prostitutes. Parry showed the judge printouts of web pages from February that he said portrayed one of two alleged victims offering sex.

Both women had histories of drug use before they met DeCoatsworth, Parry added.

DeCoatsworth, who was not in court for the hearing, was lauded as a hero in 2007 when, as a 21-year-old rookie, he took a shotgun blast to the face. Bleeding heavily and returning fire, DeCoatsworth chased his attacker for several blocks before collapsing and radioing for help.

The gunman was caught and later pleaded guilty in the shooting. DeCoatsworth underwent extensive surgery and returned to duty in June 2008. The incident led to an invitation to sit next to Michelle Obama during a presidential address in 2009.