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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The third full day of testimony in the case of Andrew Dula III was again marked by tension between a witness and the defense attorney. It also included multiple motions for a mistrial.</p><p>Dula, 56, of Shickshinny, is accused of sexually assaulting a severely mentally and physically disabled woman while working at Community Living, a Kingston-based care home, from late 2015 to early 2016.</p><p>Dula&#8217;s trial this week has been punctuated by long periods of delay, beginning with two full days of jury selection, followed by what seems to be dozens of objections from Dula&#8217;s defense attorney, Al Flora Jr.</p><p>LaShanda Williams, another employee at the home, was the only witness on the stand Thursday. Her testimony spilled over into Friday morning with cross-examination by Flora.</p><p>Williams&#8217; testimony was once again punctuated by objections, with Flora additionally making multiple motions for a mistrial in response to some of her answers.</p><p>The ire between Williams and Flora began to flare up while she was reading from a log, which said the alleged victim had suffered from &#8220;sexual abuse.&#8221;</p><p>Flora immediately objected to this, claiming it caused speculation. He made an immediate motion for a mistrial, which Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas denied.</p><p>Later, tensions continued to flare after Williams called Dula &#8220;weird.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I realized Andrew was weird. His ethics weren&#8217;t like mine,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He has to live with himself.&#8221;</p><p>She cited numerous behaviors that she found troubling &#8212; including singing love songs to the alleged victim and going to work wearing only long johns.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a time and a place for everything, and he was out of place,&#8221; Williams said of Dula&#8217;s dress.</p><p>Flora bristled at this, asking if Williams wore spandex while Dula wore his long johns.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t come here in a negligee,&#8221; she shot back.</p><p>Flora continued to zero in on Williams calling his client &#8220;weird.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t like him because he was weird,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;I never said I didn&#8217;t like him,&#8221; Williams replied, anger rising in her voice. &#8220;I don&#8217;t like him now because of what he did to (the alleged victim).&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Objection!&#8221; rang out Flora&#8217;s response. He called her reply inappropriate, and once again moved for a mistrial.</p><p>Once again, Lupas denied the motion.</p><p>Eventually, Williams was allowed to leave the stand. However, either party can call her to testify again.</p><p>The trial&#8217;s pace picked up in the afternoon, with Friday being the first day more than three witnesses testified.</p><p>Dr. Kara Brezinski-Clark, primary physician for the alleged victim, said the woman was initially brought to her after workers at the home feared she had been sexually assaulted. She said she did not see any bruising on her genitals or buttocks that might suggest a sexual assault, but she did not perform an internal exam.</p><p>The patient was sent to a local hospital where a rape kit was performed.</p><p>Testimony continues Monday morning.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dula </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_web1_dula-cmyk-3-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dula </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Caseworker’s sex-abuse trial marked by combat between lawyer, witness