Sharon Hill man pleads to assault rap; choked female friend
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A 21-year-old Sharon Hill man was sentenced to nine to 23 months at the county prison in Concord after entering a negotiated guilty plea to misdemeanor charges of simple assault, corruption of minors and terroristic threats on allegations that he choked and assaulted a juvenile female inside his home in March.
Derek Porrini, of the 300 block of Clifton Avenue, was initially charged with rape and related crimes in connection with the March 29 incident that took place in his basement bedroom, but those charges were withdrawn at the magisterial district court level in May.
He was arraigned in June on a single count of strangulation, a first-degree felony. Assistant District Attorney Danielle Gallagher amended the criminal information to reflect the new charges Tuesday before Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Richard Cappelli.
The victim told police that she had been watching television with Porrini on his bed when he started making unwanted advances toward her. During an ensuing struggle, he allegedly smashed the victim’s cell phone and 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” with a closed fist, the affidavit states.
Porrini also told the girl that other members of his family would assault her if she spoke about what had happened that night, according to the affidavit. He later drove the victim home and she went to Springfield Hospital, where emergency room staff contacted Sharon Hill police.
Porrini, represented by defense attorney Mark Much, was given credit for time served from March 30 through Oct. 31. He is not eligible for good time, however, and will serve three years of consecutive probation.
Porrini did not speak at the hearing. In addition to the prison sentence, he was ordered to attend anger management classes, and comply with the recommendations of a drug and alcohol evaluation, as well as psychological and psychiatric evaluations. He is not to have any contact with the victim.