NORWICH – The jury trial involving a former corrections officer and military veteran accused of committing rape on September 11, 2019, will continue Thursday with the defense presenting witnesses.

A special prosecutor and judge were appointed in the case after local judicial officials recused themselves due to the fact the defendant, Donald Reese, was a corrections officer for the Chenango County Sheriff's Office until 2018. His duties included transporting inmates to local courts and interacting with local court officials.

Otsego County Court Judge John F. Lambert is presiding in the case with Otsego County District Attorney John M. Muehl prosecuting.

Reese is accused of first and third degree rape and over an alleged incident, involving a woman he had recently started seeing.

Following what prosecutors describe as a third movie date, Reese is accused of making forced advances despite being told to stop and then forcing himself on the victim.

The next day the victim talked to coworkers and called police to report the incident, which began the initial investigation by the Norwich City Police.

Reese has pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case is now in front of a jury.

DA Muehl said the case may seem like a, “He said, she said,” scenario at first glance but told the jury to consider all the context.