May 23, 2018- Commonwealth v. Brandon Warrington:  Brandon Warrington, 24, formerly of Lebanon, was found guilty today of several sexual assault charges stemming from an incident on August 5, 2015.  Police arrested the defendant on August 7, 2015, for assaulting a fifteen year old girl on a nature trail located at Living Waters Church in Swatara Township.  The girl indicated that she had known the defendant a few days thru a mutual friend.  She testified that when they went for a walk on a secluded nature trail he attacked her and engaged in sexual intercourse with her as well as other sexual acts.  While finding the defendant not guilty of rape and sexual assault, the jury convicted him of aggravated indecent assault (without consent); indecent assault (without consent); statutory sexual assault; aggravated indecent assault (victim under 16); indecent assault (victim under 16); unlawful contact with a minor; and corruption of minors. 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle indicated after the verdict: “The verdict reflected that the jury believed that the victim did not consent to all of the contact with the defendant.”  The defendant argued that the contact was consensual and presented text messages between the parties after the assault that suggested the contact was not unwanted.  “This case demonstrated the mixed emotions that victims can experience after being subjected to sexual violence.  Victims often blame themselves for being assaulted and second-guess the violence they endured.  We encourage all victims to report their abuse to the police so that the cycle of violence can be broken.” 

Judge Curcillo scheduled sentencing for August 21, 2018, and ordered that he undergo a Megan’s Law evaluation to determine if he should be classified as a sexually violent predator.  The Court also ordered that the defendant be returned to the state correctional institute in Smithfield where he is already serving a 9-25 year sentence for Rape of a Child and related offenses from an incident in Lebanon County.  The defendant had posted bail and was awaiting trial on the Dauphin County charges when he committed the offenses in Lebanon County in 2016.   

Affiant Thomas Robbins, Swatara Township Police