Berks man sent to prison for sexually assaulting woman in Pottstown
Jean Mitell Petit faces prison term and sex offender treatment
NORRISTOWN » A Berks County man faces time in state prison and sex offender treatment after he was convicted of charges he sexually assaulted a woman in Pottstown.
Jean Mitell Petit, 32, who listed an address in the 100 block of Shadybrooke Drive, in the Douglassville section of Amity Township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday, June 27, to 1 to 3 years in a state correctional facility on charges of sexual assault and indecent assault of another without consent in connection with a June 2019 incident in Pottstown.
Judge Thomas P. Rogers, who convicted Petit of the charges during a non-jury trial in March, also ordered Petit to complete five years’ probation following parole, meaning Petit will be under court supervision for eight years.
Reading from a presentence report, the judge characterized Petit as an “arrogant, entitled individual” who believes he is superior to women. Petit, the judge said, has not grasped the seriousness of his conduct.
“I didn’t do it. I’m innocent. I’m not the bad person that they try to make out of me, that image they’re trying to create. I’m not that person at all,” Petit, tears streaming down his face, said as sheriff’s deputies escorted him from the courtroom after the sentencing hearing.
The judge said Petit, who will be placed under sex offender supervision during the parole and probationary periods, is prohibited from having contact with the victim.
Saying he believed Petit lied when he claimed that the victim made false accusations out of revenge, the judge said Petit must be enrolled in a communitybased sex offender treatment program and be subject to polygraph examinations as conditions of the sentence.
Petit, who listed a previous address in Thorndale, Chester County, also faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Testimony revealed an evaluation by the state’s Sex Offender Assessment Board revealed Petit does not meet criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator.
Assistant District Attorney Caroline Goldstein argued for a state prison sentence against Petit.
“This defendant cares about himself and only himself. It’s all about him,” said Goldstein, arguing Petit wanted to have sex with the victim and nothing was going to stop him, including the woman telling him, “No.” “This is going to stay with (the victim) the rest of her life. He’s a danger to everyone.”
In a statement read in court, the victim said she continues to feel anxiety and stress and has flashbacks to the incident.
“To this day, I struggle to feel like my normal self. I have more anxiety and fear now than I ever had before,” the woman wrote in the statement.
Defense lawyer Francis Genovese argued Petit had no prior criminal history and had great support from family and friends, many of whom were in the courtroom.
Genovese argued Petit believed he had the woman’s consent to engage in sexual activity.
“I never wanted to do bad to anybody in my life. I’m not going to say I’m sorry because I didn’t do anything,” Petit said before learning his fate, pleading for the judge to have mercy on his soul.
The investigation began in July 2019 when Pottstown detectives received information about a sexual assault that occurred between June 27 and June 28 at the Quality Inn on West King Street in the borough, according to court papers.
The victim disclosed she met Petit through work and agreed to spend time with him on June 27, according to the criminal complaint filed by former Pottstown Detective Heather Long, who is now a county detective.
“They spent several hours together prior to going to Petit’s hotel room at the Quality Inn,” Long alleged in the arrest affidavit, adding evidence showed Petit rented a room there between June 27 and June 28.
The woman consented to a sexual encounter when they arrived at the room, according to court documents.
Later, when Petit tried to have sexual relations with the woman a second time, she turned down his advances, detectives alleged. However, Petit continued to have sexual contact with the woman, according to court papers.
The victim “told Petit to stop” and she was trying to resist but Petit continued the assault, Long alleged.