A Pennsylvania woman charged with aggravated assault for allegedly trying to cut off her husband’s penis with a box cutter created tabloid headlines around the world earlier this month. Lisa Jones-Orock of Lawrence County was arrested on March 15, 2014, on both an outstanding bench warrant in a DUI case, as well as aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment and small amount of marijuana based upon a domestic dispute, which apparently got way out of hand.
Police alleged that Ms. Jones-Orock’s attempt to channel the spirit of Lorena Bobbit was foiled because Gerald Orock’s jeans were too thick for her to cut through. In an ideal world, Mr. Orock should receive a fat paycheck to do a commercial for the jeans manufacturer, but the world is rarely ideal for men in relationships with women who try to cut off their penises. To add insult to injury, Mr. Orock was also taken to jail following the box cutter attack, because he was violating a PFA (protection from abuse order) simply by being in the presence of his wife.
The story appears to have a happy ending for Ms. Jones-Orock. Two days ago at the preliminary hearing, the Commonwealth withdrew all of her charges related to the box cutter attack, including the small amount of marijuana charge. I speculate that Mr. Jones-Orock asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to testify, and the Commonwealth opted not to pursue the matter further, even though it is sometimes possible to get domestic violence related charges through preliminary hearing without a victim’s testimony. For the sake of fairness, I hope Mr. Orock’s own charge of indirect criminal contempt for violating the PFA order will also be dropped.
Matt McClenahen is a criminal defense attorney in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Like all criminal defense lawyers, he has had his share of domestic violence cases over the years.