NORRISTOWN — Saying a Pottstown man stole the innocence of the 5-year-old girl he sexually assaulted, a judge sent the man to prison for at least two decades.
“This was a crime done in secrecy … in the back alley of your soul. This victim was completely vulnerable due to her youth. It was a 5-year-old child. What you have done has forever impacted a child. You put her through this,” Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill addressed convicted child rapist Richard Jerome Soos Jr. on Friday.
Calling the crimes “heinous,” O’Neill sentenced Soos, 41, of the 600 block of Spruce Street, to 20 to 40 years in a state correctional facility on charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault of a child and corruption of a minor in connection with January 2019 incidents when the girl was in his company in Pottstown.
The judge’s sentence included consecutive 10-year mandatory terms sought by prosecutors for two counts of rape of a child that reflected two separate incidents. O’Neill said the state legislature has mandatory sentences in place to protect children.
“The public has an interest in protecting its children. If we don’t protect our children…then we’re doomed,” O’Neill said.
Soos also must complete three years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning he will be under court supervision for 43 years.
The judge convicted Soos of the charges last August after a one-day, non-jury trial at which Soos stipulated to facts contained in an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pottstown Police Officer Adrian Stead.
According to the stipulation of facts presented in court, Soos forced the underage girl to engage in a sex act while she was in his company at a residence in Pottstown “for his own sexual gratification.”
The victim, now older, sat in the courtroom clutching a stuffed toy. The victim’s mother wrote a statement that was read in court for the judge.
“The defendant took my daughter’s innocence away. She will have to live with this trauma the rest of her life. This is heartbreaking,” the victim’s mother stated.
Soos, who asked the judge for mercy in the form of house arrest or probation, did not react to the significant prison sentence imposed by the judge. Testimony revealed that during presentence interviews Soos suggested he was falsely accused and tried to distance himself from the allegations.
“That allows you to travel in a world where you don’t have to take accountability. I’ve heard no remorse,” said O’Neill, adding Soos is a poor candidate for rehabilitation. “The court’s sentence will be total confinement.”
Soos faces a lifetime requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, formerly known as Megan’s Law.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel sought the mandatory sentences and asked the judge to impose them consecutively. Consecutive sentences were appropriate because Soos exploited a child on two separate occasions, Deckel argued.
“Children are the most innocent among us. They are the most vulnerable among us and they need to be protected. This defendant exploited a child in a very evil and disgusting way for his own sexual gratification. It’s the epitome of evil. This is a horrific case,” Deckel argued.
Defense lawyer George Griffith Jr., aware that Soos was facing at least a 10-year mandatory term and that probation was not likely, left the sentence up to the judge. However, Griffith made the judge aware that Soos did not have a significant prior record and asked the judge to consider as possible mitigation that Soos also was sexually assaulted as a child.
“It’s all too often that we hear that when you commit a crime like this, it’s not surprising to hear that that same offense was committed against that person. That’s unfortunate,” Griffith said.
The judge ordered Soos to have no contact with the victim and her family. The judge added he hopes the girl will continue with counseling and will live a happy life.
“She deserves that, despite your crime of trying to steal that from her when she was 5 years old,” O’Neill sternly addressed Soos one last time.