Local man gets 100 years for child sex assaults

NORRISTOWN >> Stating it was one of the worst cases he’s presided over in his four years on the bench, a Montgomery County judge sent a former Norristown man to prison for up to 100 years for sexually assaulting two underage girls.

“I have not seen a case as awful as this case. This is reprehensible that you could do this to a child,” Judge Todd D. Eisenberg said as he sentenced Lewis Jones, formerly of Spruce Street, to 50-to-100-years in prison in connection with incidents that occurred with two girls in Norristown between 2004 and 2008.

The sentence essentially is a life term for Jones, who is 49.

“I’m not a monster, not the kind of person the district attorney tried to make me out to be,” Jones, most recently of Lancaster, said in court before learning his fate. “I’m still trying to process all this.”

As he was led from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies to begin serving the sentence Jones added, “This is dead wrong. I maintain my innocence.”

During a non-jury trial, Eisenberg convicted Jones of 28 separate charges, including rape of a child, attempted rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault of a child, aggravated indecent assault of a child and unlawful contact or communication with a minor in connection with the incidents.

The victims were between the ages of 7 and 11 at the time of the sexual abuse incidents, which occurred when they were in the company of Jones on multiple occasions at two borough residences

at various times during the four-year period. Jones was between the ages of 34 and 38 at the time of the incidents.

Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel argued for a lengthy prison term against Jones.

“The crimes he committed against these little girls who trusted him were among the most egregious I have ever seen. He committed these crimes over the course of several years and would continually invade their privacy, use their trust to gain their compliance and silence and he did so with no remorse,” Marvel argued.

“This is a defendant whose punishment should be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.” Marvel added, arguing presentence reports indicated Jones had an above average risk of recidivism.

One of the victims, now a young woman, testified that as the abuse was occurring she wanted to die. The victim said to this day she still suffers the trauma of being abused all those years ago.

“A 7-year-old should never be thinking ‘I’d be better off dead,’” Marvel argued. “That’s how he made this little girl feel.”

Marvel characterized the victims, each of whom testified at trial, as “courageous” to confront in court the man who abused them.

Initially, Jones sought a jury trial. However, after three witnesses, including the two girls, testified for jurors, Jones asked Eisenberg to be the sole factfinder during what then played out as a non-jury trial.

Jones, who was represented by defense lawyer Doug Dolfman, essentially stipulated to certain facts contained in a police affidavit of probable cause during the non-jury trial and Eisenberg convicted him of the 28 charges.

Court papers indicate the allegations of both girls initially were investigated in 2008 but no charges were filed at that time.

The investigation was reopened in October 2017 and the victims, now adults, were re-interviewed.

One of the victims consented to a recorded phone conversation with Jones and confronted Jones about the sexual abuse, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Police Corporal Nicholas Dumas.

“Jones promised it would never happen again and stated he was in a different mindset then because he just got out of jail,” Dumas alleged in the arrest affidavit. Online: HTTPS://KARLSLOTTERYBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM