The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Term stays for man guilty of child rape
Worcester man re-sentenced after appeal
NORRISTOWN >> A former Worcester man who was granted a re-sentencing hearing after an appeal on charges he sexually assaulted an underage girl on multiple occasions ultimately did not receive a lesser sentence.
Abram Cornell Johnson, 36, was re-sentenced in Montgomery County Court this week to a total of 10-to-20-years in prison in connection with incidents that occurred between 1998 and 2016 when the victim was between the ages of 4 and 22 and in Johnson’s company at various locations in
Philadelphia and Montgomery County, including Plymouth, Elkins Park, and Whitemarsh.
Johnson knew the girl’s family, according to testimony.
Essentially, the total sentence, imposed by Senior Judge Scott D. Keller is the same as the sentence previously imposed against Johnson in April.
Johnson, formerly of North Wales Road, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to charges of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child and sexual assault.
In April, Johnson was sentenced to 10-to-20-years in prison on the charges. That sentence was imposed by Judge Leonard N. Zito, a senior judge from Northampton County. An out-of-county judge was assigned to preside over the case because Johnson is known by a member of the Montgomery County bench.
Johnson, who was represented by defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III, appealed the original sentence, challenging the imposition of the 10-year mandatory minimum term on the charge of rape of a child. Egan argued that the 10-year mandatory sentence was not applicable in the case and that only a 5-year mandatory sentence should have been considered.
In August, Keller, a senior judge from Berks County, agreed with the defense and vacated Johnson’s original sentence and ordered the new sentencing hearing.
During the re-sentencing hearing, Keller sentenced Johnson to the mandatory 5-year prison term on the charge of rape of a child. However, Keller also imposed a consecutive term of 5-to-10-years on the charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse to get to the total 10-to-20year sentencing scheme.
Prosecutors Erika Lyn Wevodau and Brianna Ringwood handled the case.
The victim, now 24, confronted Johnson in court during previous hearings and explained that the sexual assaults led her to be suicidal at a young age and untrusting of adults.
An investigation began in December 2016, when a woman reported to the Plymouth Township Police Department that she had been sexually assaulted by Johnson over the course of several years at various times while she was in his company.
The woman told detectives that at the age of 4 she resided in Philadelphia and that Johnson, who knew her family, sexually assaulted her and raped her on at least one occasion while he was at her home, according to the criminal complaint filed by Plymouth Detective Joseph LaPenta III.
The victim reported that between the ages of 6 and 14 she resided at another Philadelphia residence and that Johnson sexually assaulted her “over a hundred times” when he visited that residence during those years, court papers indicate.
The victim told detectives that when she was between the ages of 14 and 16 her family lived in Elkins Park and she said Johnson “would figure out when no one would be home” and visit her. The victim claimed Johnson also occasionally took her to his Blue Bell area residence at that time and sexually assaulted her there, according to the arrest affidavit.
Other sexual assaults occurred while the victim was living at a Plymouth residence when she was between 16- and 18-years of age and later at her Whitemarsh residence, detectives alleged.
During the investigation, the victim consented to an intercepted phone call with Johnson and prosecutors approved the wiretap after determining the victim’s consent was given freely and voluntarily, according to court documents. That recorded call between the victim and Johnson occurred on Dec. 15, 2016, court documents indicate.
“Johnson repeatedly apologizes for his actions during the entire conversation. Johnson goes on to state his past actions have done damage and admits to starting something and not stopping it,” LaPenta alleged in the arrest affidavit.