Jury: Tow truck driver indecently assaulted woman
NORRISTOWN » A Souderton man who worked as a tow truck driver potentially faces time behind bars after a jury convicted him of having indecent contact with a woman inside a Lower Moreland garage.
Christopher Alan Cole, 34, of the first block of Diamond Street, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of indecent assault by forcible compulsion and indecent assault without consent in connection with a September 2015 incident. The jury deliberated just 15 minutes before reaching a verdict after a two-day trial before Judge William R. Carpenter.
Carpenter deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Cole. Cole, who remains free on bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.
County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg vowed to seek jail time against Cole, alleging the woman repeatedly told Cole to cease his sexual advances and he ignored her and proceeded to indecently assault her.
“It has to be made clear that ‘No’ means ‘No,’” Brittenburg said. “It was an invasion of her sense of safety and security. The effects on the victim have been substantial.”
Court documents and testimony revealed the woman met Cole in August 2015 when she hired a Lower Moreland company for which Cole worked to tow her vehicle. At that time, Cole lied to the woman, who was searching for a second job, that he was a company official and he offered her training to become a tow truck driver, authorities alleged. Company officials later told detectives Cole never had authorization to offer anyone employment or training.
“He offered to train her for a job that didn’t exist,” Brittenburg alleged, adding Cole no longer works for the company. “He was representing that there was this job opportunity that did not exist.”
On Sept. 12, 2015, Cole picked the woman up in Hatboro in his tow truck under the guise he would train her for a position as a driver. Cole even gave the woman a uniform shirt to wear that day, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Moreland Detective Holly Halota.
Initially, Cole and the woman conducted work on the road, including towing four vehicles. During that time, Cole allegedly made numerous inappropriate, sexually suggestive comments to the victim.
Eventually, Cole took the woman to a Lower Moreland garage owned by the company for which he worked under the guise of offering her additional training. Brittenburg alleged Cole was trying to isolate the woman and once he got her alone he began to grope her.
“It was just the two of them in this garage. He was being aggressive in the way
“It has to be made clear that ‘No’ means ‘No.’ It was an invasion of her sense of safety and security.” — Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Brittenburg
he was going about touching her and she feared that he might have a weapon and she was worried, she didn’t know what he was going to do,” Brittenburg alleged.
The woman told detectives
Cole made sexual advances toward her, touched her inappropriately, rubbed his body against her and tried to kiss her during the assault. The woman testified she told Cole she had a boyfriend and that she told him to “Stop” his advances several times during the incident.
“(The victim) reported she was frightened of Cole.
She said it was her belief if she were to run out she was fearful he might chase her or harm her and it was raining heavily out,” Halota alleged in the criminal complaint.
The woman used her cellphone to call her boyfriend to come get her at one point but she did not know where she was, according to the criminal
complaint. Cole overheard the woman talking to her boyfriend and when he questioned her she feigned a family emergency and Cole subsequently transported the woman to where he had picked her up earlier in the day, court papers indicate.
The woman subsequently reported the incident to her relatives, Cole’s
boss and the police.
Cole, who was represented by defense lawyer John Krinick, did not testify during the trial but presented several character witnesses on his behalf. The defense suggested the victim’s testimony was not credible and that the incident did not happen.
Cole also faces an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, which will determine if he meets criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent requirements under state law, including reporting their addresses to state police for life and community notification about their housing arrangements.