Courts.
A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Hatfield Township in early 2023.
Court records show 21-year-old Jean De La Cruz Acevedo pleaded guilty on April 4 reduced charges of statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors, as part of an open guilty plea with prosecutors. Acevedo was initially facing two felony counts of rape of a child, and a count of statutory sexual assault was previously dismissed at his preliminary hearing last year.
An open guilty plea means there is no sentencing recommendation between Acevedo and prosecutors, meaning the judge will ultimately determine Acevedo’s sentence.
A Hatfield Township Police Officer observed a white Mercedes with dark tinted windows parked in the lot of the Manheim Philadelphia Auto Auction at 12:49 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2023. The officer pulled up behind the vehicle and noted the vehicle was running but couldn’t see anything inside due to the tint, according to charging documents.
When the officer knocked on the driver’s side window, the rear driver’s side window went down and a male — later identified as Acevedo — stated he was “with a female” and needed to get dressed, police said. Acevedo provided police with his driver’s license, indicating that he was 20 years old, as the victim — a 12-year-old girl — emerged from the back seat of the vehicle, the report states.
The girl was then taken home by police to her parent’s house, where her father confirmed she was only 12 years old, police said.
The following day, police downloaded the contents of the girl’s cellphone, which allegedly showed she was communicating with Acevedo via Instagram and had arranged to meet with him around 11 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2023. The report adds that communications between Acevedo and the girl continued after their encounter with police, according to the complaint.
Several weeks later, the girl was interviewed at Mission Kids, where she disclosed that she had met Acevedo through mutual friends and he had reached out to hang out with her, police said. The girl said she snuck out of her house to meet with Acevedo, and the two went to Wawa for food before Acevedo parked in the Manheim Philadelphia Auto Auction lot, the report states.
After eating, Acevedo allegedly told the girl he wanted to have sex with her, and she said it was ok “because they were good friends,” police said. He then sexually assaulted the girl in the back seat of the vehicle, which was then interrupted by police, the report states.
Children under the age of 13 years old in Pennsylvania cannot consent to any sexual activity with anyone. The overall age of consent in Pennsylvania is 16 years old, however teens between the ages of 13 and 15 can consent to sex so long as the partner is less than four years older. Read more about consent laws here.
According to reporting by Carl Hessler Jr. at the Pottstown Mercury, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Risa Ferman deferred sentencing to allow officials to conduct a pre-sentencing investigation and have Acevedo undergo a psychosexual evaluation. The report states Acevedo faces a maximum 8½ to 17 years in prison, and regardless of his sentence, he will face a mandatory 15-year requirement to register his address under the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act — previously known as Megan’s Law.
Acevedo remains free on $99,000 cash bail while awaiting sentencing.
