Man sent to prison for robbing woman
NORRISTOWN >> After some eyewitnesses to his crime helped police track him, a Norristown man is headed to prison for assaulting and robbing a pregnant borough woman at knifepoint.
Christopher D. Williams, 35, of the 600 block of West Main Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 14 to 30 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, indecent assault and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with an April 2019 incident in the borough. Williams will receive credit for the 28 months he spent in jail while awaiting court action on the charges.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Gary S. Silow as part of a plea agreement. The judge ordered Williams to have no contact with the victim or the witnesses in the case.
In light of the indecent assault conviction, Williams 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. Williams also will be under sex offender supervision when he’s released from prison on parole.
The investigation began about 10:40 a.m. April 2, 2019, when Norristown police were dispatched to the 600 block of Buttonwood Street for a report of a theft. A woman, who was nine months pregnant, subsequently told police she was walking to a relative’s home in the borough when she noticed that she was being followed by a male.
The woman reported the man came up from behind her, knocked her to the ground, got on top of her, put a knife to her throat and demanded money and valuables, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Detective William Klinger.
The man rummaged through the woman’s pockets and then placed his hand inside the woman’s shirt and touched her in an indecent manner, detectives alleged.
As the victim screamed, two women who were nearby ran to assist the woman. One witness told police she observed a man on top of the victim with a knife to the victim’s throat. The man then grabbed the victim’s cellphone and fled, according to court papers.
After attending to the victim, the two eyewitnesses followed the suspect as he ran south on Buttonwood Street and then to Blackberry Alley where he got into a vehicle and drove off. One of the eyewitnesses used her cellphone to take a photo of the suspect and the registration plate of the vehicle he was driving away, according to the arrest affidavit.
Police traced the registration of the vehicle to Williams. During a search of Williams’ residence and vehicle, detectives uncovered clothing that matched the description of the attacker as well as a silver Leatherman tool “with knife attachment” and two cellphones, according to court papers.
The victim and an eyewitness subsequently positively identified Williams as the attacker. Court documents do not indicate if the pregnant victim sought medical treatment after the incident.
Other charges of stalking, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and recklessly endangering another person were dismissed against Williams as part of the plea agreement.