LANCASTER, Pa. — A Reading man was convicted in Lancaster County Court last week of 12 charges connected to the sexual abuse of a child, prosecutors said.
Joel Villarreal, 44, was accused of sexually assaulting the girl between 2018 and 2020, when she was between the ages of 7 and 9. He was convicted by jury of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse – forcible compulsion, indecent assault of a person less than 13, endangering the welfare of children, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors.
First Deputy District Attorney Cody Wade prosecuted the case and presented evidence and testimony to the jury during a two-day trial before Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle.
“(The victim) isn’t a trained actress,” Wade said. “She’s not a professional witness. She’s a brave little girl who had the courage to get up on the stand and tell her story about the abuse suffered at the hands of this man.”
The jury returned the guilty verdicts after one hour of deliberations, according to prosecutors.
On May 5, 2022, the Lancaster City Bureau of Police was given a referral from the Lancaster County Children and Youth Agency regarding inappropriate sexual contact between a child victim and Villarreal. The victim was forensically interviewed a week later at the Lancaster County Children’s Alliance and disclosed Villarreal had sexual contact with her on numerous occasions from when she was 7 until 9 years of age.
The abuse occurred at two separate homes in Lancaster city when Villarreal was in a position to care for the victim. Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Ryan Hockley filed charges and testified during the trial.
