A Berks County man faces time in a Montgomery County jail after he admitted to having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl in Upper Pottsgrove.
David Charles Swoyer, 23, of the 400 block of Rugby Road, Exeter Township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to six-to-23 months in the county jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of statutory sexual assault in connection with a July 2011 incident at an Upper Pottsgrove residence.
Judge Carolyn T. Carluccio, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Swoyer to report to the jail at 9 a.m. July 8 to begin serving the sentence. Swoyer is eligible for the jail’s work release program during his incarceration.
The judge further ordered Swoyer to undergo a psychological evaluation as a condition of the sentence.
During the probationary and parole period, Swoyer will be under sex offender supervision. That means probation officers can make unannounced visits to Swoyer’s home and can require him to undergo counseling or treatment.
Swoyer is prohibited from having any contact with the victim under the judge’s order.
Specifically, under state law, by pleading guilty to statutory sexual assault, Swoyer admitted that he engaged in sexual contact with someone who was under 16 and when he was four or more years older than the victim and they were not married to each other.
An investigation began in August 2011 when Upper Pottsgrove police were informed by officials of Montgomery County Children and Youth Services that they received a report of sexual misconduct with a minor, specifically, that Swoyer had sex with the 13-year-old girl, according to a criminal complaint.
The sexual contact occurred when Swoyer was 21 and while he was a visitor at an Upper Pottsgrove home, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Upper Pottsgrove Police Officer Larry Hanna.
During the investigation, the girl told authorities that Swoyer coaxed her into having sexual contact with him and ‘it ended up happening,’ according to the arrest affidavit.
When he was questioned by police, Swoyer confirmed the contact but initially claimed he was provoked by the girl and insisted that he believed the girl was 16 or 17 years old, according to the arrest affidavit.