In March 2017, a woman known in court records as M.M. called the police in Chester, Pennsylvania, and said that her 10-year-old daughter, E.T., said she had been sexually abused by her stepfather, 42-year-old Clifford Emarievebe.
At the time that M.M. called the police, she and Emarievebe were separated. He had moved out of their house in June 2016, just a few months after arriving in the United States from Nigeria. Despite the separation, Emarievebe sometimes drove M.M. to work and occasionally returned to his former home.
Officer Chris Senkow of the Chester Police Department interviewed E.T. on March 27, 2017, at the Delaware County Child Advocacy Center. During the interview, E.T. said that Emarievebe had touched her at least five times—orally, vaginally, and anally—in the last month.
Chester police arrested Emarievebe on April 12, 2017, and charged him with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse involving a child, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of a minor, and other crimes.
Assistant Public Defender Frank Zarrilli initially represented Emarievebe but was later replaced by Michael Lambert.
Emarievebe’s trial in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas began on July 27, 2018. The state presented no physical or forensic evidence of the alleged sexual assault.
E.T. testified that Emarievebe “did stuff” to her while her mother was at work. She said that Emarievebe touched her thigh, asked her “Do you love me,” and kissed her on the lips when driving her to and from a friend’s birthday party in February 2017. She also described how he rubbed her “swimsuit area” while she lay on a pull-out couch in the basement. E.T. testified that Emarievebe also had anal and oral sex with her.
During E.T.’s direct examination, the state moved to admit an entry of E.T.’s journal. Lambert objected, claiming the entry was hearsay evidence. Judge Margaret Amoroso admitted an entry where E.T. wrote that she “was assauted [sic] by somebody,” ruling that the statement met an exception to hearsay evidence.
Lambert had said in his opening statement that Emarievebe would testify, but he did not take the stand.
On June 29, 2018, the jury convicted Emarievebe of two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, one count of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
His other charges were dismissed.
At his sentencing on November 8, 2018, Emarievebe maintained his innocence. According to the Delaware County Daily Times, he said: “This is not me, this is not my person … I didn’t come here to be in a situation like this … I am not what they say. I’m just begging for mercy. That’s all.”
Judge Amoroso sentenced Emarievebe to eight to 16 years in prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender.
Emarievebe appealed, arguing that Judge Amoroso erred in allowing the state to admit E.T.’s journal entry. On October 28, 2019, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the conviction. It said that although Judge Amoroso erred in admitting this evidence, the error was harmless because it occurred after the girl had testified and the entry never identified Emarievebe by name.
On December 29, 2020, Emarievebe’s new attorney, Robert Keller, moved for a new trial under Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act (PCRA), claiming that Lambert had provided ineffective assistance of counsel.
The motion said that Lambert failed to interview potential witnesses and investigate a partial alibi defense. The motion also said that Lambert only met with Emarievebe twice before trial and weakened Emarievebe’s case by telling jurors that Emarievebe would testify.
During the PCRA hearing on March 17, 2022, Zarrilli testified about his theory of the case and the efforts he took to gather evidence and witnesses on Emarievebe’s behalf. Zarrilli said he intended to present a partial alibi defense and had reached out to Emarievebe’s employers for timecards and potential testimony that would show that Emarievebe was likely working during at least some of the times E.T. said she was assaulted. Zarrilli said he gave Lambert his entire file and sent him an email with suggestions. One of his theories was that M.M was so angry at Emarievebe over their separation that she had persuaded her daughter to falsely accuse him.
Lambert testified at the hearing, and said “I do not recall” more than 70 times. He said that he had a “high-volume practice” and “could not be expected to remember this case.” Lambert did not recall whether he discussed an alibi defense or whether he received an email from Zarrilli regarding the defense theory. He did not recall telling the jury that Emarievebe would take the stand. He did not recall looking for an expert witness after the trial began. He did recall that he visited Emarievebe fewer than five times in the year prior to trial.
Emarievebe testified at the hearing that he told Lambert that he wanted to testify and explain M.M.’s motivation for manipulating her daughter. He said that M.M. had vowed to ruin his life and wanted him in jail when he refused to return to the house after their separation. He said that M.M. falsely told the police that he was a drug dealer. He also said that M.M. reported him to the Chester Police and that she previously claimed that Emarievebe had been sleeping with M.M.’s 20-year-old daughter, which he denied. Emarievebe said M.M. had come to his workplace and caused a scene, and that co-workers could testify about the incident, which might also have been captured on video.
On August 5, 2022, Judge Amoroso granted Emarievebe’s PCRA motion for a new trial. Emarievebe was released from prison on November 10, 2022.
The state appealed Judge Amoroso’s ruling, arguing that her order lacked specificity. “There is no evidence that an alibi defense existed,” the state said. “Given that the victim alleged ongoing sexual abuse, without specific dates, it is not reasonably probable that investigating Emarievebe’s work schedule would have exonerated him.”
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the lower-court ruling on September 12, 2023. It said that Judge Amoroso did not abuse her discretion in granting a new trial.
Emarievebe’s retrial began on March 11, 2025. He was now represented by Keller and Annemarie Ward. Several of the state’s witnesses from the first trial did not testify. E.T., now 18 years old, testified, but her testimony was at times inconsistent with her testimony from the first trial. Keller also presented new witnesses who testified about M.M.’s motives for having her daughter accuse Emarievebe.
Emarievebe also testified and denied sexually assaulting the girl. Keller told the Daily Times that Emarievebe became so emotional during his testimony that Judge Amoroso paused the trial.
The jury acquitted Emarievebe of all charges on March 14, 2025.
– Genesis Altamirano, Stephanie Bui, Eric (Minjae) Choi, Kammi Chanel Tamashiro, and Mingxi Xie
Posting Date: 06-19-2025
Last Update Date: 06-19-2025
