DAUPHIN COUNTY — A 31-year-old Harrisburg man will serve a prison term of 13 to 26 years for raping a woman and physically attacking a woman in 2017.
Terry Lee Meredith was sentenced on Sept. 21 by Dauphin County President Judge Richard A. Lewis, according to the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office. Meredith was convicted in June of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and strangulation stemming from the rape and physical assault of his then-girlfriend in July 2017.
Meredith’s sentence was higher than the mandatory 10-year minimum sentence he faced for committing a second strike violent offense under Pennsylvania’s “Three Strikes Law,” the DA’s Office said.
According to evidence presented at trial, Meredith and the victim were in a relationship at the time of the attack, which occurred on July 20 and 21, 2017. Police said Meredith confronted the victim and began to beat her, slapping, punching and kicking her over the course of several hours and allegedly strangling her in front of her two small children.
Meredith then beat the victim again and sexually assaulted her. He ultimately called an ambulance for the victim after the attack had ended, claiming she had fallen down the steps. But when paramedics removed the victim from her home and put her in an ambulance, she immediately told them that Meredith had spent the previous two days beating, strangling and raping her. Paramedics notified police, who responded to the apartment.
Meredith had already fled, leaving two young children alone, according to West Swatara Township Police.
