Man sentenced for indecent contact with woman as she slept

A Norristown man will be under court supervision for several years and must undergo a psychosexual evaluation after he admitted to having indecent contact with a woman in the borough.

Robert James Lewis, 32, of the 400 block of Forest Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to four years of probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault of an unconsious person in connection with a 2019 incident. Lewis pleaded guilty shortly before jury selection was to begin for his trial.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Lewis to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment. Furthermore, the judge ordered Lewis to have no contact with the victim.

Lewis also faces a 25-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.

By pleading guilty to the charge, Lewis specifically admitted that he unlawfully had indecent contact with the victim when the victim was unconscious or when he knew that the victim was unaware that the indecent contact was occurring.

An investigation of Lewis began in 2019, when a woman reported to Norristown police that Lewis had indecent contact with her at a borough residence. The woman reported that she was sleeping in a bedroom of the residence on Aug. 18 when she was awakened by Lewis touching her in an indecent manner, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Detective James Angelucci.

Two days after the incident, Lewis sent the woman text messages in which he expressed remorse and to being ashamed of his conduct.

“I accept full responsibility for my actions and I will suffer the consequences and I have to live with that fact. But words cannot describe how sorry I am and feel. I am not asking for forgiveness but I am hoping that you do not let this hinder your greatness,” Lewis wrote in the text messages, according to court documents. “I will apologize until there is no breath to do so. I am sooo (sic) so sorry.”

A charge of aggravated indecent assault was dismissed against Lewis as part of the plea agreement.