A Lancaster County jury acquitted a city resident Wednesday on three of four charges stemming from an alleged break-in last year at the home of a district judge.

The jury convicted Pedro Plata, 20, of criminal trespass, one of the lesser charges he faced, for entering the North Street home of Kelly S. Ballentine early in the morning of May 28.

The jury acquitted Plata of burglary, indecent assault and criminal attempt at a sex act.

Ballentine has been a district judge representing part of Lancaster city since January 2006. The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era did not name her in previous stories because police said she was the victim of a sexual assault. It is the newspaper's policy not to name victims of sexual assaults.

The jury, however, decided Ballentine was not the victim of a sexual assault.

Prosecutors had contended Plata went to her bedroom and sexually assaulted her by touching her thigh.

She testified on Monday that she retrieved a pistol and fired a warning shot before the intruder fled.

The jury of nine women and three men returned their verdicts just before noon on Wednesday after deliberating seven hours over two days.

Ballentine reacted in disgust and was physically removed from the courtroom by family members and deputy sheriffs.

"You all let him do that to me and it's supposed to be OK!" she screamed on her way out the door.

"Get off of me!" she told supporters who tried to calm her.

Plata showed no reaction and sat with his hands on his lap when the verdicts were announced.

Prosecutor Randall L. Miller and defense lawyer George N. Marros also did not react.

"They believed, as we thought, he was invited in," Marros said outside the courtroom. "Either she let him in, or told him to come over."

Marros said he was optimistic the verdicts would favor his client after the jury asked a question during deliberations regarding the difference between burglary and criminal trespass.

"At that point, I knew they were hung up," he said.

Also, Marros said, jurors might not have believed the victim's version of events.

"That's what it appears," he said.

Marros said his client is "very relieved."

Miller immediately shook hands with Marros following the verdict.

"I am disappointed in the verdict," said Miller, who prosecuted the case. "However, I respect the verdict. That was their analysis of the case.

"It's not my place or province to criticize them for doing their civic duty."

Plata has been incarcerated in Lancaster County Prison since his arrest on the charges on July 17. He will be sentenced on the criminal trespass charge after a background check.

That charge, a third-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. State sentencing guidelines, however, call for a shorter sentence.

The jurors asked two other questions, in addition to the one referred to by Marros.

They asked President Judge Joseph C. Madenspacher to repeat the definition of indecent assault and also asked him what they should do if they could not reach a unanimous decision.

The people sitting in the spectator section of the courtroom erupted when the verdicts were announced.

Ballentine wriggled in her seat, then stood up and voiced her displeasure.

Her family members held her and she was taken outside.

Plata's family nodded their heads after hearing the verdicts. One woman quietly applauded.

bhambright@lnpnews.com