Former Montco GOP chair Robert Kerns arraigned on rape, other charges

WHITPAIN — A somber Robert Kerns, handcuffs peeking out from the sleeves of his brown suit, was arraigned on multiple counts of rape, aggravated indecent assault and a host of other felony and misdemeanor charges Tuesday afternoon inside District Judge Robert Sobeck’s Whitpain courtroom.

With his attorney, Brian McMonagle, at his side, the 66-year-old Kerns — who resigned as Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman on Nov. 14 — listened as Sobeck read the 19 charges filed against him after his arrest Tuesday morning for allegedly raping an employee of his law firm on the night of Oct. 25 after drugging her with wine laced with the sleeping medication Ambien, according to the findings of a Montgomery County Investigating Grand Jury.