Man draws prison for child sex assaults
NORRISTOWN >> A Lower Providence man faces decades in prison after a jury convicted him of charges he had sexual and indecent contact with two underage girls while they were in his company at several locations, including Horsham Township.
John Andrew Anzalone, 40, of the 700 block of Sunnyside Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 40-to80-years in a state correctional facility.
Judge William R. Carpenter imposed the punishment after a jury convicted Anzalone of 31 separate charges including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact or communication with minors in
connection with incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2018.
At the time of the assaults, the girls were between the ages of 9 and 14, according to trial testimony.
Anzalone knew the girls’ family members and the assaults occurred at times when Anzalone was alone with each of the girls.
Carpenter ordered Anzalone to have no contact with the victims and their families.
In addition to occurring in Horsham Township, some of the inappropriate contact occurred when the girls were in Anzalone’s company in other areas of Pennsylvania, including Waymart, Wayne County, and Forest City, Susquehanna County, according to court papers and testimony.
Both victims testified during the two-day trial.
“That man is the embodiment of evil to (the victims),” Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Beeson argued to the jury during the trial, characterizing the girls as “courageous” for confronting their abuser in court. “They had the courage to come in and do it. That is no small task for a person of their age.”
Beeson said one of the girls was “disgusted” to see Anzalone in the courtroom and attempted to avoid eye contact with him during her testimony.
Anzalone did not testify during the trial.
“He denies it,” defense lawyer Geoffrey Hood argued to jurors, pointing out that throughout the investigation and during interviews by detectives Anzalone denied being involved in any inappropriate conduct with the victims.
At trial, Hood suggested the girls were not telling the truth and fabricated the allegations because they had animosity toward Anzalone. Hood argued the girls gave inconsistent statements during the investigation and that their trial testimony differed from those statements.
The investigation began in July 2017, when Horsham Police Officer Lawrence Bozzomo received a report that Anzalone had sexually assaulted two girls. The girls subsequently told detectives and child social workers that Anzalone touched them in an inappropriate manner and had various sexual or indecent contact with them.