Rochester physical therapist accused of sex assault found dead in Connecticut

Patrick James O'Donnell (Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - The trial of a physical therapist accused of sex assault while massaging a teenage woman that was postponed after he failed to show for a hearing a week ago will never happen.

A jury trial for Patrick James O'Donnell, 56, of Tebbetts Road, was supposed to begin later this month, but the charges were dropped after he was found deceased in Connecticut, Strafford County Assistant Attorney Katelyn Henmueller told The Rochester Voice on Tuesday.
After the court learned O'Donnell wasn't going to show last Wednesday a no-bail arrest warrant was issued.
O'Donnell, a former physical therapist at Orthopedic and Sport Therapy Services in Gonic, was charged with three counts of sexual assault, practicing with an expired license and violating bail conditions from a prior unrelated arrest.
The trial had seen several delays in the past due to the Covid pandemic backlog and other issues.

Henmueller did not disclose any specifics in how O'Donnell death may have occurred.

This story will be updated as more details come to light.