A judge is allowing evidence against a Warren man changed with rape of a child to be heard in court.

Attorneys representing Dillon T. Gray, 34, had filed two motions seeking to have evidence withheld from court, with Judge Todd Woodin in the Court of Common Pleas ruling Tuesday to deny a motion in limine and a tender years petition while granting a motion for a competency hearing.

A motion in limine in Pennsylvania criminal courts is a pretrial request asking the judge to exclude or admit specific evidence before it is presented to a jury, ensuring a fair trial by preventing prejudicial information from being heard. Typically filed before trial, these motions address issues like prior convictions, non-disclosed evidence, or hearsay.

The Tender Years Hearsay Exception allows out-of-court statements made by children aged 12 or younger (or up to 16 in some cases) regarding sexual or physical abuse to be admitted as evidence, even if they are considered hearsay. The exception helps prosecute abuse cases by allowing child statements if they are reliable, relevant and the child is unavailable or testifies. While often used by prosecutors, the Tender Years rule can limit a defendant’s opportunity to directly cross-examine the child witness.

A trial in Gray’s case is still scheduled to begin Monday.

Gray was charged in February 2025 with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault: 11 years older and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, all class 1 felony charges. He is also charged with incest of a minor – complainant under 13 years of age, a class 2 felony, corruption of minors – defendant age 18 or above, a class 3 felony, and indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, a class 3 felony.

All of those charges have proceeded to court.

According to the criminal court docket, the incident allegedly took place Dec. 30, 2022, in Glade Township. On Sept. 30, 2024, a forensic interview was conducted at the Warren County Children’s Advocacy Center after State Police at Warren received a report of suspected child abuse from Warren County Children and Youth Services. The girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause, reported that Gray had “hurt her.” The affidavit detailed behavior that allegedly took place between Gray and the 2-year-old in “his tree house” where there were toys for her to play with. The girl said the activity took place more than once.