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The woman in her 50's was walking along Route 73 in Mount Laurel the afternoon of June 6. 2019, when she was grabbed by Donald Cramer Jr., then dragged into a wooded area near the I-295 northbound exit ramp, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.
Local resident John Bishop was driving and witnessed the abduction, Coffina said.
Bishop stopped his car on the shoulder of the road where he was able to subdue Cramer Jr. until Mount Laurel Township police officers arrived and took him into custody, authorities said.
The victim met Bishop for the first time after Thursday's sentencing proceeding. According to authorities, she and her husband said they were extremely grateful for Bishop's "courageous and selfless actions."
“It was a privilege to see this emotional meeting between this brave survivor and the gentleman who put himself in harm’s way to rescue her from this awful attack,” Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.
“By intervening to help a stranger without regard for his own safety, Mr. Bishop reflects, as Abraham Lincoln once said, the ‘better angels of our nature.’ And I cannot say enough about our survivor, who bravely fought her attacker during the crime, and was determined to see that justice was done in this case, and to make certain that this defendant could not harm anyone else.”
According to authorities, Cramer Jr. must serve more than 15 years of the prison term before becoming eligible for parole.
The plea-bargained sentence was handed down in Mount Holly by Superior Court Judge Gerard H. Breland.
Cramer Jr. pleaded guilty in September to first-degree attempted aggravated sexual assault. He was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw.
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