Prisoner Lied About Cellmate Raping Him: Delco DA

A Delaware County prisoner lied about his cellmate raping him, which led to false report charges being filed against him, according to officials.

District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland said Stephen Michael Giampetro, 25, of Marcus Hook, has been charged with making a false report that his cellmate raped him while he was an inmate at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.

Marcus Hook Police arrested Giampetro on Monday, Nov. 5 after obtaining a warrant for his arrest. Giampetro was released after posting 10 percent of $25,000 bail.

Detective Edmond Pisani and Sergeant Kenneth Bellis of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division (CID) launched an immediate investigation following the report of an alleged rape that had occurred inside the George W. Hill Correctional Facility during the evening of Oct. 10.

On Oct. 11, CID detectives responded to Crozer Medical Center and met with the alleged victim, Giampetro, the DA's office said.

Giampetro told detectives that overnight Oct. 10 to Oct. 11, he was anally raped by his cellmate.

During the interview with detectives, Giampetro was acting erratic and made statements that he was going to sue everyone, that he did not believe he was speaking with police officers, and that he was hallucinating, the DA's office said. Although Giampetro initially consented to a sexual assault examination a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, he did not allow a full exam to be completed, according to the DA's office.

Bellis and Pisani spoke to the alleged rapist at the jail, who adamantly denied sexually assaulting Giampetro, the DA's office said.

He admitted to being annoyed by his cellmates because they constantly talked at night, but told detectives that he never sexually assaulted Giampetro, the DA's office said. The alleged perpetrator consented to a Sexual Assault Kit. CID Detective James Reardon responded processed the cell block where the alleged incident occurred, according to the DA's office. On this same day, Giampetro posted bail and was released from prison.

According to prison investigators, when Giampetro was an inmate, he was in protective custody and therefore a guard checked his cell every 15 minutes, the DA's office said. There was nothing abnormal noted in the logs during these checks on the night the alleged incident took place, according to the DA's office.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Giampetro admitted to another individual that he had made up the rape allegations and contacted "PREA" because he wanted to get out of his cell, the DA's office said. PREA stands for Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal law to address allegations of sexual assaults in prisons that requires a full investigation.

On Oct. 30, detectives attempted to speak with Giampetro regarding the alleged rape, but he refused to provide details regarding the incident, and instead became agitated and stormed out of CID headquarters, the DA's office said.

"In Delaware County, we take any report of assault seriously, including in our prison. The fact that Mr. Giampetro fabricated this allegation because he had a personality conflict with his cellmate, is both reprehensible and criminal, landing him right back in prison," Copeland said. "I would like to commend prison investigators for immediately contacting authorities following the report of assault, and commend Detective Pisani and Sergeant Bellis for launching a full investigation to determine the truth in this matter."

Image via Delaware County District Attorney's Office