Man faces trial for 2017 park sex assault
WEST NORRITON >> A West Norriton man must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman at gunpoint in Norristown Farm Park more than two years ago.
Mason Alexander Hall, 19, of the 2000 block of Palmer Road, after a preliminary hearing on Wednesday before District Court Judge Marc A. Alfarano, was held for trial on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, possessing an instrument of crime and possession of a firearm by a minor in connection with the alleged Aug. 1, 2017, sexual assault
at the park in West Norriton.
Alfarano denied a request from defense lawyer Matthew Quigg to reduce Hall’s $1 million bail.
Quigg argued the bail was excessive and that Hall, who was supported in court by his parents and a brother, has strong family ties. But District Attorney Kevin R. Steele argued Hall is accused of a violent offense and suggested he was a risk to flee.
Quigg also argued that because Hall was 17 years old at the time of the alleged incident that the case should be moved to juvenile court, but Alfarano also denied that request and moved forward with the preliminary hearing.
After holding Hall for trial, Alfarano set a Dec. 11 formal arraignment date for Hall in county court. The case is being handled by Steele and co-prosecutor Brianna Ringwood.
During the preliminary hearing, the victim did not testify but West Norriton Detective Mark Wassmer read the victim’s statement in which she described the alleged assault.
The investigation began about 10:50 a.m. Aug. 1, 2017, when the victim, “crying and hysterical,” called 911 to report she had been raped at gunpoint by an unknown male as she was walking along Stony Creek Road between Upper and Lower Farm Park roads in the West Norriton section of the park, according to a criminal complaint.
“The suspect grabbed the victim from behind by placing his left arm around her neck. The suspect then placed a semiautomatic handgun to her right temple and told her to keep walking or he would shoot her,” detectives alleged in
“The suspect grabbed the victim from behind by placing his left arm around her neck. The suspect then placed a semiautomatic handgun to her right temple and told her to keep walking or he would shoot her.”
— Detectives alleged in the arrest affidavit
the arrest affidavit.
The woman offered the suspect money and keys to her car but the attacker led her to a secluded pasture where the sexual assault occurred, according to testimony.
Initially, investigators canvassed the park, used a tracking dog, scoured surveillance video from the area and submitted recovered DNA to law enforcement databases containing information about known sex offenders. But none resulted in a match.
Authorities also offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and received some tips but they did not lead to an arrest.
In January 2018, Steele announced that the alleged perpetrator’s DNA was submitted to Parabon NanoLabs Inc., of Reston, Va., for “phenotyping analysis,” which allowed authorities to produce a DNA-generated composite illustration, a scientific appropriation of the suspect’s likely appearance. Steele called it “a high-tech police artist’s sketch.”
Authorities then used cutting-edge genetic genealogy research, “familial DNA or partial matches,” to identify living or deceased distant relatives of the unidentified perpetrator.
Detectives interviewed a number of those individuals and worked their way closer to the perpetrator, Steele said, adding two local suspects were developed, including Hall, who fit the general physical description provided by the victim.
During the investigation, detectives also learned Hall was involved in an unrelated Sept. 23, 2017, incident in Norristown during which officers recovered a bloody hammer that Hall allegedly admitted to using to break headlamps of a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Walter Kerr.
On Sept 27, county detectives retrieved the bloody hammer from Norristown police and submitted it for DNA testing. The DNA profile developed from blood on the hammer was compared to the DNA profile of the perpetrator of the alleged sexual assault and it led to Hall as the attacker, according to court papers.