Ex-GOP Chairman Charged with Rape, Drug Possession

Robert J. Kerns resigned his post as leader of the Republican Party in Montgomery County after a sex assault investigation was reported.

Former Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert J. Kerns

Former Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert J. Kerns has been charged with a number of felonies in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred in late October, according to court documents.

Kerns, 66, who led the GOP from 2008 through Nov. 15 when he resigned after the sexual assault investigation was reported, was charged with 19 criminal counts, including rape of an unconscious victim, rape of a substantially impaired person sexually assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, and possession of a controlled substance.

According to reports, the victim is an employee of Kerns’s Upper Gwynedd law firm and the incident occurred in his car after work function on October 25 in King of Prussia, just one day after Kerns announced a truce among warring factions in the Republican Party, which had impacted the party for decades.

Kerns was also charged with unsworn falsification to authorities and tampering with physical evidence.

More details will be released at an 11 a.m. press conference with Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman.

Kerns currently serves as the solicitor for Upper Gwynedd and West Norriton Townships and Trappe Borough, and the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County.