HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Dauphin County man will serve up to 32 years in prison and must register as a Megan's Law offender for the rest of his life for sexually assaulting a child under the age of 13, the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office announced.
Heriberto Montanez, 44, was sentenced Friday by Judge Scott Arthur Evans to a prison term of 16 to 32 years, the DA's office said. He was convicted in March of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a child under age 13, and corruption of minors after a three-day trial.
According to testimony, Montanez entered a bedroom where the eight-year-old child was sleeping and sexually assaulted the child in early 2020.
The child alerted a sibling to the assault who told another adult in the household, who initially dismissed the allegations as a bad dream.
The child later disclosed to a parent, who reported the incident to investigators.
During the trial the child, now 10 years of age, took the witness stand and described the assault in detail to the jury. The child bravely looked at Montanez in the courtroom and positively identified him as the assailant, according to prosecutors.
Corporal Jacob Pierce of the Harrisburg Bureau of Police investigated the case in conjunction with the Child Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Team.
The Dauphin County Child Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Team consists of police, Children and Youth Services, members of the District Attorney’s Office, and the UPMC- Children’s Advocacy Center.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Katie L. Adam of the office's Child Abuse Unit prosecuted this case.
