Wilmington man convicted of indecently assaulting teen
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A 44-yearold Wilmington man was found guilty on three counts of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old following a jury trial before Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gregory Mallon this week.
Thomas Harris was also found guilty of indecent exposure, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. He was acquitted on one count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
The victim, now 18, testified at trial that Harris was supposed to be watching her while her mother was out of town in early 2014. The girl was 15 at the time.
She said she had gone to a carnival in Trainer one night with a friend and got into an altercation with some other teens there. The victim said she returned home visibly upset and Harris comforted her in a downstairs living room while her friend remained upstairs in a bedroom.
The victim said Harris told her she was beautiful, then had her close her eyes and placed her hand on his penis over his clothing. The girl said she pulled her hand back, but Harris again told her to close her eyes, then placed her hand on his exposed member and moved her hand up and down. Her uncle came downstairs and Harris put his penis away, she said.
After the uncle left, the girl said Harris continued to talk to her about various sexual acts and showed her a pornographic video from a website on her iPad. She also testified that he reached under her shirt and bra to touch her breasts.
“He told me that we could have sex and it won’t mean anything, it’s not wrong,” she said. “He said, ‘Just don’t tell your mom, because if you tell your mom, I’m going to find a way to hurt you and she’s going to find a way to hurt me.’”
The victim told Assistant District Attorney Christopher Boggs that Harris also had her put her head in his lap as they drove to the store the next day and stroked her sides. On another occasion, Harris allegedly touched her buttocks while demonstrating how he wanted her to give him a backrub.
It was the second trial for Harris, who was representing himself with counsel from defense attorney Brian Malloy. Harris did not testify during this trial, but had taken the stand and denied the allegations during the first trial, which ended in a hung jury.
Harris had claimed the victim previously threatened to say that he had abused her as a way of getting him out of her life. Delaware County Detective Mark Bucci said he did not recall the victim’s mother ever relaying that information to him, however.
Bucci also indicated there was some pornographic material found on the iPad, but not for the target dates of the assault. He added that it is possible to erase information from the iPad in such a way that it could not be recovered.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 15 pending a state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board evaluation to determine whether Harris meets the criteria for a sexually violent predator.