After failing to reach a verdict after deliberating for five hours on Thursday afternoon, a Lebanon County jury of seven men and five women used another 30 minutes Friday morning to find Veronika Rodriguez guilty of all three charges leveled against her.
Rodriguez was accused of falsely reporting to police that fellow Air National Guard member Dr. Fahad Pervez raped her in January 2023, and that she illegally recorded the encounter without her alleged assailant’s permission.
Rodriguez was charged with making false reports to law enforcement authorities, a misdemeanor carrying a potential two-year jail sentence, and two counts of “interception, disclosure of use of wire, electronic, or oral communication,” each a third-degree felony carrying a potential seven-year jail sentence.
However, Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines leave open the possibility that she could avoid jail, which will be up to the sentencing judge’s discretion.
After asking individual jurors if this was their verdict and receiving a unanimous yes, Judge Charles Jones set sentencing for Aug. 20. He allowed Rodriguez to remain free on bail until then, but ordered her to report to probation authorities for a pre-sentence investigation report.
Standing before Jones, Rodriguez quietly told him that she was satisfied with her attorney, Ian Ehrgood.
After court adjourned, Ehrgood told reporters that “this was not the verdict we were hoping for,” but commended the jury for the hard work they put in.
Asked if an appeal was likely, Ehrgood said “all options are on the table at this point.” An appeal cannot be filed before Rodriguez’s Aug. 20 sentencing in front of Jones.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Amy Muller, who tried the case for the commonwealth, did not meet with media after the verdict.
However, District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, who has been criticized for her handling of the Rodriguez case and other sex crime prosecutions, issued a late morning press release saying, in part, “this case has garnered more attention than nearly any Lebanon County trial. Much of the media and people trolling on the internet have perpetuated the utter lie that Veronika Rodriguez is anything other than a deceitful criminal.”
Graf, who did not participate in the trial, said she will hold a press conference next Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Department of Emergency Services Building, 1805 Cornwall Road, Lebanon.
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