A Philadelphia man convicted on child sexual assault charges following a jury trial in June has been sentenced to 20 to 40 years in a state prison.
Kristopher C. Williams, 45, will also serve three years of consecutive probation and register for life as a sexual offender under Megan’s Law as part of the sentence handed down by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Dominic Pileggi.
Williams was found guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted IDSI, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of someone less than 13 years old, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor, all felonies.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours before returning guilty verdicts on all charges. They also found Williams had engaged in a course of conduct in committing his crimes.
The jury heard from the victim, who said that Williams had come into her room one night when she was a young child and began kissing her face. He then put her on the bed and performed oral sex and rubbed her thighs, she said.
The victim also recounted other times to Deputy District Attorney Danielle Nispel when Williams would rub her vaginal area, though she did not recall penetration. Nispel had the victim read from a transcript of an earlier preliminary hearing where she had said Williams digitally penetrated her.
The victim said Williams on one occasion went into her mother’s bedroom during a birthday party for her sibling, laid on her bed and called the victim over. The victim said Williams exposed his penis and told her to “suck it,” but she refused.
She told him after that incident that she was going to tell her mother, but did not disclose the assaults until some time later to her father, which started the investigation.
Assistant District Attorney Bryan Barth stood in for Nispel at sentencing Tuesday and asked the judge to run the mandatory minimum 10-20 years for the IDSI and aggravated indecent assault counts consecutively.
Barth noted the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board had found Williams meets the criteria for a sexually violent predator, requiring stricter monitoring as a sex offender, and that these “extremely heinous” offenses took place over a substantial period of time in the young victim’s life.
Barth added that Williams apparently viewed the victim as an easy target and has not taken any responsibility for his actions.
Defense counsel Zoe Braunstein objected to the SVP designation, noting the report was written by someone who did not conduct the interview and appeared to be largely premised on 2017 allegations of sexual assault that were ultimately dismissed. Pileggi set a hearing date of Jan. 20 to hear arguments on the designation, but continued with sentencing.
Braunstein asked that the judge run all charges concurrently for a total 10 to 20 years. While she acknowledged Williams does have a criminal history, she said none of his prior convictions were sexual offenses or violent in nature.
Williams indicated he intends to appeal the verdict, arguing he was convicted from perjured testimony and no evidence of wrongdoing.
He said he feels badly that the victim had to go through “prosecuting an innocent man,” and that he was unable to provide any exculpatory evidence at trial despite Braunstein’s best efforts.
“I feel like I was railroaded, I really was,” Williams said. “… At the end of the day, your honor, I really feel as though these are just allegations.”
Pileggi said he had taken the attorneys’ arguments and other materials into consideration in crafting his sentence, as well as the impact on the victim, need to protect society and rehabilitative needs of the defendant.
He found no mitigating factors here, but said he had found aggravating factors, including the age of the victim.
In addition to prison time and probation, Williams was ordered to participate in a sex offender program while incarcerated, provide a DNA sample to state police, and have no contact with children.
Williams is not eligible for early release, but was given credit for time served from Oct. 3, 2024, to Oct. 13, 2026.