Hatfield Man Headed to State Prison Following Conviction on Rape of a Child Charges

James Maloney, 39, of Hatfield.

Editor’s note: some details from the investigation are being withheld in order to protect the privacy of the victim and their family.

A Hatfield Township man has been sentenced to state prison after being convicted of three felony counts of rape of a child earlier this month.

Court records show James Maloney, 39, was found guilty of three counts of rape of a child on Nov. 9. County Common Pleas Judge Wendy Rothstein sentenced Maloney to 10 to 20 years in state prison, followed by three years’ probation. Additional charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawful contact with a minor were dismissed.

Judge Rothstein ordered Maloney undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation along with a sexually violent predator assessment, and he must comply with the recommendations from both. Maloney is also not eligible for short sentence parole, state drug treatment, boot camp or the Recidivism Risk Reduction Initiative.

Upon his release, Maloney is prohibited from having contact with the victim, and he will face a lifetime sex offender registration requirement under Megan’s Law.

According to the criminal complaint, police were contacted by the mother of the victim on Sept. 2, 2020, who stated that her daughter had disclosed that she was sexually assaulted by Maloney while in his care sometime prior to March 2020. The report states that the victim said Maloney made her perform oral sex on him up to three times, and the victim later stated that Maloney also allegedly performed oral sex on her.

The victim was 6 years old at the time of the abuse, police said.

On Oct. 28, 2020, Montgomery County Detectives interviewed Maloney at the Hatfield Township Police Department following a polygraph examination, the report states. Investigators said that Maloney admitted that his penis had been in the child’s mouth one time, but Maloney stated that he had fallen asleep with the child on his couch, and when he awoke, the child had placed his erect penis in her mouth, the report states.

Maloney was taken into custody on Dec. 29, 2020, and he was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 cash bail. Court records show Maloney posted bail roughly two months later, and has remained free until his most recent hearing, when he was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.

See also:

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