Sharon Hill man faces trial in attempted strangulation
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A 20-year-old Sharon Hill man waived formal arraignment on allegations that he choked a juvenile female inside his home in March.
Derek Porrini, of the 300 block of Clifton Avenue, was previously charged with rape and related crimes for the alleged incident that took place in his basement bedroom on March 29, but those charges were withdrawn at the magisterial district court level in May. He is now charged only with a single count of strangulation, a first-degree felony.
The alleged victim told police that she had been watching television with Porrini on his bed when he started making unwanted advances. During an ensuing struggle, he allegedly grabbed her by the throat, choking her, according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
“Porrini then pulled her up off the ground, still choking her, and slammed her up against a bathroom door, then yanked her back down to the floor and punched her in the back of the head behind her left ear,” the affidavit states.
Porrini later drove the alleged victim home, according to the affidavit. She went to Springfield Hospital, where emergency room staff contacted Sharon Hill police.
Porrini, represented by defense attorney Mark Much, remains in custody at the county prison in Concord pending 10 percent of $100,000 bail. Assistant District Attorney Danielle Sierra Gallaher is listed as the prosecutor in online documents.