Pottstown man sent to prison for child sex assault

NORRISTOWN >> A judge sent a Pottstown man to prison for up to two decades after he admitted to sexually assaulting an underage girl on several occasions while she was in his company in the borough.

Norberto ArmentaPonce, 38, of the first block of East High Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 7-to20-years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated indecent assault in connection with incidents that occurred between February 2015 and May 2017 at locations in Pottstown.

The girl was between 4and 6-years old at the time of the incidents, according to court documents.

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, said Armenta-Ponce must undergo a psychosexual evaluation and comply with all recommendations for treatment. The judge ordered ArmentaPonce to have no contact with the victim or her family.

Armenta-Ponce also faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to police after he is released from prison.

An investigation of Armenta-Ponce began in June 2017, when Pottstown detectives received a report of child sexual abuse and the underage girl was interviewed by child social workers at Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center, the nonprofit agency formed in 2009 to help ease the criminal justice process for child abuse victims and their families.

The girl told investigators that Armenta-Ponce, who knew the girl’s family, touched her in a sexual manner on several occasions while she was in his company, according to the criminal complaint filed by Pottstown Detective Heather Long. The girl said Armenta-Ponce’s conduct would make her feel “not happy,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The girl added that Armenta-Ponce also showed her videos on his cellphone of “bad stuff like he did to her,” detectives alleged.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexandria MacMaster. Defense lawyer George Griffith Jr. represented Armenta-Ponce.