WEST CHESER, PA — After pleading guilty to kidnapping, aggravated assault, conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child, Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft this week sentenced 33-year-old Julianne Lewis of West Chester to 28-56 years in prison, announced Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. The defendant was charged along with her boyfriend, Dimitrios Moscharis, with the brutal beating, abuse and neglect of her 9-year-old daughter in 2020. Moscharis died in Chester County Prison in 2021 awaiting trial. The victim spent several months recovering at Nemours/AI DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington.
“Julianne Lewis allowed her boyfriend to subject her child to cruel & long-term abuse while doing nothing to stop or prevent it. She willfully violated the duty of care & responsibility she had as a human being & as a mother,” said Ryan. “This is one of those cases that law enforcement – my office, the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department and Chester County Detectives – will never forget because it is so tragic. We are extremely grateful to all of the law enforcement who helped with this case. The young victim here received justice with their help.”
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on November 23, 2020, Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police went to a Westtown Township home for a child who was unresponsive on the bathroom floor. When EMS removed her clothes to perform life-saving measures, they saw extensive bruising, old and new, all over her body. The bruising patterns matched objects nearby, including a curtain rod & hanger. Doctors said she suffered life-threatening injuries consistent with strangulation or suffocation and imprisonment in a small space.
The investigation showed that Lewis allowed Moscharis to discipline her daughter with a curtain rod and window blind baton. The pair also did the following to the victim:
- Forced her to walk stairs for hours with arms outstretched
- Locked her in a closet for lengthy periods without food, water, or bathroom
- Made her kneel on hangers
- Made her sleep on the basement’s concrete floor
Ryan commended the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department and Chester County Detectives for the investigation which led to Lewis’s guilty plea. DDA Erin O’Brien was assigned the prosecutor by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
If you suspect child abuse contact ChildLine at 800-932-0313.
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