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Demetrice Herron approached the woman getting items out of her disabled car in a remote lot behind a garage after the crash on Oct. 19, 2018, the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office said.
After making small talk, Herron pushed the woman into the wrecked car and sexually assaulted her, authorities said. The victim returned to New Jersey where she obtained medical treatment resulting in the recovery of important evidence from her body.
Herron was at the garage to have his truck serviced while traveling through Pennsylvania, investigators found. Police tracked him to Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, where he was incarcerated on another charge.
There, Det. Michael Melendez obtained a DNA sample from Herron that matched evidence gathered during the sexual assault examination, authorities said.
The crime of sexual assault normally carries a maximum ten-year prison sentence. However, because the Commonwealth proved that Herron previously committed another crime of violence, a home invasion burglary, the law mandated imposition of the maximum sentence.
Herron will be subject to lifetime registration under Megan’s Law.
A Dauphin County jury convicted Herron of sexual assault in March 2021.
Judge Deborah E. Curcillo of the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas sentenced Herron to a term of imprisonment of at least 10 years and up to 20 years in the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer W. Gettle prosecuted the case, and noted the efforts of the following individuals and agencies in Herron's arrest:
Det. Scott Meier, Susquehanna Township Police Department Det. Kevin Scott, Susquehanna Township Police Department Det. Michael Melendez, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, North Carolina Detective Jeffrey Jumper, Upper Makefield Police Department, Newtown, PA Eileen Aiossa, Registered Nurse, Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital, New Jersey Brett Albert, Pennsylvania State Police Crime Laboratory Patrice Ferlan, Pennsylvania State Police DNA Laboratory Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Davis, Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division, Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office Charlotte-Mecklenburg Clerk of Courts Middlesex County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office
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