Jury acquits Hatfield man of illegal gun possession during traffic stop, but faces separate trial on underage sexual assault charges

 A man with addresses in Hatfield Township and Pennsburg was acquitted by a Montgomery County Common Pleas jury on charges of illegal gun possession while a rear seat passenger in a car stopped by Hatfield Police for traffic offenses.

However, Jason Matthew Hill, 49, of Hatfield and the 1400 block of Quakertown Avenue in Pennsburg, remains in Montgomery County jail on $2 million bail on a separate trial for alleged multiple sexual assaults of a runaway 14-year-old Marlborough Township girl while she was drugged with methamphetamine, according to The Reporter.

After two days of deliberation, the jury acquitted Hill of carrying a firearm without a license and receiving stolen property in connection with a May 30, 2023 incident in Hatfield Township. Authorities alleged that Hill had a gun on the floor of the car during the stop, but the jury found that Hill was not in physical possession of the gun, according to The Reporter.

The defendant – sporting a heavily-tattooed face, bald head and glasses and a black dress shirt and blue tie – was convicted, however, of misdemeanor giving false identification to police during the stop, according to the report.

Hill will be sentenced on the offense in the near future, and could receive up to one year in prison.

“I think they did absolutely perfect. I think they did a good job. I don’t mind you getting no [sic] pictures now, I’m not guilty,” Hill said to The Reporter.

Hill’s attorney James E. Tone said there was no DNA evidence linking his client to the weapon.

In the upcoming sexual assault trial, Hill is accused of establishing a relationship with and grooming a mentally-impaired, runaway teenager for purposes of sexual abuse between January and June 2023, according to the report.

County detectives and Marlborough Township Police authorities alleged the juvenile described the grooming and sexual abuse as "trauma bonding" -- he would tell the girl stories related to his youth and growing up, which happened to be the same issues the juvenile had experienced during her life.

Read more on the court incidents here.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.