Penn Borough man accused by troopers of assaulting woman over cellphone photo

A woman told state troopers Tuesday that a Penn Borough man became so angry over a photograph he found on her cellphone that he woke her from her sleep, assaulted her and then refused to let her summon help.

Shawn M. Ressler, 20, was charged with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, false imprisonment, harassment and reckless endangerment in the incident that began at 6:30 a.m. at his home in the 800 block of North Railroad Street and ended about 7:30 a.m at the Jeannette police station.

The woman fled to her car but suffered additional injuries from broken glass when Ressler allegedly threw a brick through her windshield as she drove away to the police station to seek help.

The woman was taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where she was treated for multiple injuries Tuesday, troopers said. Police interviewed the woman at the hospital, according to court records.

The woman told troopers she and Ressler were attempting to reconcile after a recent breakup when she was awakened by him about 6:30 a.m. He was upset after finding a photograph of her with “someone else” on her cellphone and began punching her, she said.

The woman told troopers Ressler dragged her out of the bed and she fell to the floor, where he began kicking her.

She had numerous black and blue marks on her face and her forehead was swollen after the assault, police said.

The state police forensics team photographed the woman’s car at the police station. Both front and rear windows were broken out, as was a window on the passenger side.

Ressler used a knife to stab the woman’s iPhone repeatedly, troopers said.

He was ordered held in the county jail after failing to post $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing July 14 . Ressler did not have an attorney listed in court documents.

According to online court dockets, Ressler has no prior criminal history in Pennsylvania.