Current and former Allentown cops arrested on rape, prostitution and related charges: DA

A current and a former officer of the Allentown The police department was arrested on criminal charges, including rape, Lehigh County Prosecutor Gavin Holihan said Friday.

Evan Weaver, 45, of Weisenberg Township, and Jason M. Krasley, 47, of Upper Milford Township, are accused of raping and sexually assaulting the same victim, Holihan alleged in a news release.

The offenses occurred between 2011 and 2015, according to the release.

Both face charges of rape and involuntary sexual servitude that, if convicted, carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to Holihan.

Weaver is currently an Allentown police officer, while Krasley is a former vice officer with the department.

The Allentown Police Department on Friday identified Weaver as a sergeant and said he was being placed on administrative leave, with the opening of an internal investigation.

“The Allentown Police Department takes all complaints, whether internal or external, seriously and conducts full and thorough investigations into them,” read a statement from Deputy Chief James Gress. “The Allentown Police Department has cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the Lehigh County Prosecutor as well as any other investigative agencies.”

Weaver and Krasley also face misdemeanor charges of indecent assault, official oppression, prostitution and related offenses, according to the press release.

Weaver is also charged with criminal sexual assault, while Krasley faces additional counts of criminal kidnapping, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and intimidation of a witness, in addition to misdemeanor criminal coercion.

Both men were in custody Friday awaiting arraignment at Central Booking in Lehigh County, Holihan said.

The investigation by Lehigh County detectives is ongoing, according to the release. Investigators sealed criminal complaints against the suspects, shielding further details of the allegations from immediate disclosure by the courts.

Krasley had already been arrested on November 15 for allegedly stole $5,500 that police seized during a May 2019 drug bust in Allentown. He remained free in that case on $100,000 unsecured bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29, according to the prosecutor’s office. At that hearing, a district judge will be asked to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send charges of theft, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence for trial in Common Pleas Court. Commons of Lehigh County.

Krasley was named in a lawsuit filed last year by two Allentown police officers who alleged widespread misconduct within the Allentown Police Department. The trial was initially rejected by a judgewho then reconsidered and decided on Oct. 30 to allow the case to continue, according to court records.

His attorney in that case, Bethlehem-based James Burke, also represented him at Friday’s preliminary arraignment on the new charges. Burke told lehighvalleylive.com that Krasley was later granted the opportunity to be released on 10 percent of $750,000 bail, over the objection of the prosecutor’s office. Burke said he had to see the complaint sealed against his client but that Krasley “absolutely denies” the allegations.

Court records were not immediately updated with Weaver’s legal counsel.