ITHACA, NY — A 23-year-old Honesdale, PA man has been convicted on burglary and sex abuse charges, but the jury deadlocked on the most serious charge: first-degree rape. The district attorney who prosecuted the case has not yet determined if he will re-try on the rape charge.

Peter Mesko, a former wrestler and student at Cornell University, was charged with breaking into a home in Collegetown on March 30, 2013, and raping a sleeping victim. He had allegedly been drinking at the time.

According to a press release from the Ithaca Police Department in April 2013, the female lodged a complaint saying an unknown male went into her room while she was sleeping and had sex with her without her knowledge or consent at about 4 a.m.

The woman is quoted as giving a statement saying, “I woke up and he was inside of me. I was only conscious of his presence for about 10 seconds. I was facing away from him and did not see his face until he was on the floor. I woke up confused and uncomfortable and said, ‘I don’t like that, stop.’”

A friend who was also asleep in the room awoke and reportedly recognized Mesko as a student in the wrestling program. According to their statements, the women left the room and locked themselves in a bathroom, but a bit later the friend returned to the room to take a picture of Mesko.

At the trial, Mesko’s lawyers argued that state of inebriation prohibited him from forming the necessary intent to be guilty of first-degree rape.

Before the trial began he rejected a plea bargain, which would have let him off with six months in jail and 10 years of probation. Now found guilty of the two lesser charges, Mesko faces sentencing in March, and both charges come with mandatory state prison terms. The conviction for sexual abuse comes with a sentence of two to seven years, and Mesko would be required to register as a sex offender; the second degree burglary carries a three-and-a-half to 15-year term.