BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Jury selection is underway for the trial of two owners of the former Colonial restaurant and bar charged with rape.

More than 100 potential jurors showed up this morning at the domed Courthouse in downtown Binghamton.

Ron Kweller and Jordan Rindgen are accused of forcing a 21-year-old woman to have sex with them in the early morning hours of November 27, 2021.

Outrage over allegations posted to social media lead to protests and calls to boycott the Colonial and other eateries that Kweller and Rindgen were part owners in.

Both Colonial and its neighboring restaurant Dos Rios closed in the Spring of 2022.

As the day began, Broome County Court Judge Carol Cocchiola asked potential jurors if they were members of, or closely associated with, a private Facebook group called Binghamton Believes Survivors of Sexual Assault which was established to share information about the alleged crimes.

Jury selection is scheduled to resume tomorrow.