LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster County man will serve up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the borough of Manheim, prosecutors said Monday.
Jesus DeJesus-Gonzalez, of Elizabethtown, was sentenced last Friday to a prison term of 10 to 20 years by Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sompaugle, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
DeJesus-Gonzalez will also serve three years of probation upon his release, prosecutors said.
He was found guilty of Aggravated Indecent Assault, Indecent Assault, Intimidation of a Witness, Corruption of Minors and Unlawful Contact with a Minor.
Prosecutors said the sexual assault occurred in March 2018. DeJesus-Gonzalez abused the child as she slept, telling her during the assault that he would give her five dollars if she didn't tell anyone, which he did the next morning before she left for school, prosecutors said.
As part of his sentence, DeJesus-Gonzalez is required to register as a sex offender for life, according to prosecutors.
The sentence of 10-20 years was the maximum allowed by law for the Aggravated Indecent Assault charge. However, Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick argued that consecutive sentences for the Intimidation, Corruption and Unlawful Contact counts were warranted given DeJesus-Gonzalez’s exploitation of the close relationship he had with the victim over her life.
