LANCASTER, PA — A Mountville, Pennsylvania resident, 26-year-old Darnell Lathon, has been sentenced to 3½ to 10 years behind bars for sexually assaulting an unconscious teenager in her own home. The November 2019 attack, which saw the victim’s peace and sanctuary cruelly snatched away in the dead of night, culminated in a December trial conviction on multiple charges.
Lancaster County Judge Thomas Sponaugle delivered the sentence after jurors found Lathon guilty of aggravated indecent assault without consent, aggravated indecent assault of an unconscious person, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, and two counts of indecent assault. Adding to Lathon’s lifetime burden, he must now register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, a decree that will forever mark him in the eyes of society.
The prosecuting Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo struggled to encapsulate the profound impact of Lathon’s actions on the victim. “When the defendant entered the victim’s home and bedroom in the middle of the night, he took away her sanctuary and peace,” she lamented during the proceedings. The attack was not a random act of violence; the victim, only 17 at the time, knew Lathon, who exploited his knowledge of her home to perpetrate his vile act.
The night of the assault, the victim had attended a party in Lancaster city, leaving in an inebriated state with little memory of her departure. It was during this vulnerable time that Lathon, having himself been out at a bar, entered her home. The victim woke to the horrifying realization of her assault, with torn pants and fragmented memories of the ordeal. A visit to Lancaster General Hospital for a SAFE examination confirmed the unspeakable through DNA evidence – Lathon was the assailant.
ADA Collo’s plea for a 5 to 10-year sentence underscored the absence of remorse from Lathon, condemning his actions as a deliberate choice rather than a mere mistake. Despite the defense counsel’s plea for leniency, Judge Sponaugle echoed the sentiment of premeditation and depravity in his sentencing, highlighting the defendant’s awareness of the victim’s incapacitated state.
This case, investigated by Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Amos Glick, serves as a somber reminder of the fragility of safety and trust within our communities. As Lathon begins his sentence, the victim is left to rebuild the sanctuary that was so brutally violated, a process that will undoubtedly take far longer than the years marked on a prison sentence.
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