PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A New York couple is on trial in Bucks County on charges they assaulted a teenage employee at Sesame Place last summer. Prosecutors argue it escalated after the man was told to pull up his mask, but defense attorneys say the employee started it.
Prosecutors say 41-year-old Troy McCoy “sucker-punched” the 17-year-old Sesame Place worker from behind, breaking his jaw and a tooth.
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McCoy was at the park with his girlfriend and their children, ages 4 and 2, in August 2020, not long after it reopened with COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Prosecutors say the employee saw McCoy waiting in line with his mask down and asked him to pull up.
A few hours later, on another ride, prosecutors say McCoy started yelling at the employee and demanded to be let off the ride. The worker tried to diffuse the situation, they say, but McCoy’s girlfriend and codefendant, Shakerra Bonds, started hitting him. Then, McCoy threw the punch.
But defense attorneys say the employee started it, as he was being rude and aggressive. They say McCoy stepped in because the employee was trying to go after his girlfriend, and he heard his 4-year-old say, “Don’t hurt mommy.”
They say McCoy had only pulled his mask down for a second, but in the words of McCoy’s lawyer, the investigation was “infected by the narrative” that a man punched an employee after being told to wear a mask.
McCoy is facing several charges, including aggravated assault — a first-degree felony — while Bonds is charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct.