Hearing for man accused of assaulting woman in Frazer hotel delayed because alleged victim in jail

A preliminary hearing for a Wilkinsburg man accused of assaulting a woman in a Frazer hotel room was postponed until November because the alleged victim was in jail, according to online court records.

Frazer police charged Michael Joseph Battaglia, 44, with aggravated and simple assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint, making terroristic threats and drug offenses in connection with the Oct. 1 incident, court records show. A charge of sexual assault was withdrawn.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, said Battaglia’s hearing was postponed so transportation could be arranged to bring the alleged victim to the hearing, now scheduled for Nov. 2.

Frazer police went to SpringHill Suites near the Pittsburgh Mills mall after receiving a report of a woman screaming for help there, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

A hotel employee told police the woman had walked out of the hotel wearing bloody sweatpants, and officers later found her on Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard near the Route 28 southbound ramp. The woman said she had been “beat up,” the complaint said.

The employee said the woman had been in a hotel room with Battaglia and Andrew Gilbert, 27, of Pittsburgh, for most of the day.

Police said they arrested the men and found them in possession of drugs, drug paraphernalia and cash. Battaglia also had court documents belonging to the alleged victim.

In the hotel room, police said they found additional drugs and drug paraphernalia, along with bloody sheets and towels.

The woman told police that Battaglia had paid for her to get a lawyer to represent her in a prostitution case.

She told police that Battaglia took her to the hotel room, smoked crack cocaine and told her that she owed him sexual favors. When she refused, Battaglia strangled her and beat her for two hours until she agreed to have sex with him, the complaint said. At some point, she escaped the room and sought help.

Battaglia was denied bond and remains in Allegheny County Jail.

Gilbert was charged with numerous drug offenses. His preliminary hearing also was postponed until Nov. 2 because his attorney wasn’t present at this week’s scheduled hearing and had requested the postponement, Manko said. He is free on nonmonetary bond, court records show.

Battaglia’s attorney Adam Reynolds and Gilbert’s attorney Christopher Urbano did not return messages seeking comment.