Former Casper businessman Tony Scott Cercy has been sentenced to 6-8 years for Third-Degree Sexual Assault.
The verdict came down in District Courtroom 1A in the Townsend Justice Center, in Casper, with Judge Daniel Forgey presiding.
Cercy was convicted of third-degree sexual assault in November of 2018. The conviction comes from an incident that occurred during the summer of 2017.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Forgey allowed testimony from another former Casper businessman, Sonny Pilcher. Pilcher testified that he witnessed the aftermath of alleged sexual assault committed by Cercy at a Natrona County strip club, approximately 10 years ago.
Pilcher claimed that a bouncer told him that Cercy choked a dancer, and bit her breast, during a private dance. He further said that he supplied a payoff to the dancer, in the amount of $25,000. Pilcher said that $5k was from money he owed to Cercy, and the rest of the money came from Pilcher.
A former manager at the strip club also testified, saying that he also witnessed the aftermath of the assault. Saying that Cercy still had his hand on the dancer’s throat, when confronted by the manager.
An impact statements was given by the victim, who said that she hasn’t been the same since the assault came to light. She said that she had lost friends and has been called names since speaking out, and tha she feels unwelcome in the city of Casper.
Family, friends, and employees of Cercy also spoke, painting the defendant as a strong, kind, and generous member of the community who has helped friends and community organizations.
The victim in the case testified that after a day of drinking with friends at the lake in June 2017, she attended a party at the Cercy home near Alcova Reservoir. The woman told the jury that she passed out at the party and awoke in the early morning hours, of the following day, to find Cercy performing oral sex on her.
Cercy was originally found “not guilty” on one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault, during a trial in February of 2018 in Natrona County. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a charge of third-degree sexual assault.
It was the third-degree sexual assault charge that Cercy faced in the facilities of the Hot Springs County District Court, in November, presided over by the Natrona County District Court.
The trial was moved to Hot Springs County county in June of 2018, after members of the Cercy defense team asked Natrona County District Court for a change-of-venue citing media coverage of the events surrounding the February trial.
The Hot Springs jury of 3 men and 9 women returned a verdict of guilty of third-degree sexual assault.
Blonigen, whose term as District Attorney recently expired, was named as a special prosecutor in the case. Blonigen was the lead prosecutor during the February and November trials.
Oil City would like to clarify that $5k was owed by Sonny Pilcher, to Tony Cercy, according to Pilcher’s testimony. An earlier version of this story reported that incorrectly.
Pilcher also clarified to Oil City that he was informed of the assault by a bouncer, not a stripper, and did not witness the assault first-hand. Pilcher testified on Wednesday that he witnessed the commotion caused by the incident via security camera.
