A Bucks County man has entered a no contest plea to charges stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of a teen boy who had confided in the man when he began to question his sexuality at the age of 14.
Jason Batistoni, 47, of Bristol Borough, entered a no contest plea to felony counts of statutory sexual assault and corruption of a minor on Friday. An additional charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age was dismissed in exchange for Batistoni’s plea, court records show.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt; rather, the plea is an admission that prosecutors likely had enough evidence to secure a guilty verdict at trial.
Court records show sentencing was deferred pending a pre-sentencing investigation, including an assessment by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board (SOAB). Notes from the docket also indicate Batistoni will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, though grading is pending the SOAB assessment.
Batistoni faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $25,000 fine on the statutory sexual assault charge.
Investigators were contacted on Feb. 10, 2022, by Bucks County Children and Youth regarding a male victim who alleged that two adult men had sexual contact with him when he was a juvenile. The victim met with police later that day and stated that approximately four years prior — when the victim was a 14-year-old beginning eighth grade — he began to question his sexual orientation and confided in a gay couple that was friends with his mother, according to charging documents.
The couple consisted of Batistoni and another man, police said.
The victim told investigators that he would frequently spend time alone with the two men, including sleepovers at their house, and the three eventually began engaging sexual activities together, according to the criminal complaint. In addition to those incidents, the victim also described an incident at his Perkasie home during the spring of 2018, in which Batistoni allegedly engaged in oral sex with the victim, police said.
The current set of charges are based off the alleged Spring 2018 incident, according to court records. The criminal complaint notes that all facts and details have not been released, including the location of the other alleged sexual encounters. The name of the second man is being withheld, as he has not yet been charged with a crime.
The investigation is ongoing.
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