Jeff Bohen-Digital Reporter
A Philadelphia man was sentenced to county jail for the sexual assault of a Bensalem minor, authorities announced Tuesday.
Decosten M. Strother, 47, was sentenced today to one day less than one year to one day less than two years (11-23 months) in the Bucks County Correctional Facility on a third-degree felony count of corruption of minors.
Strother was convicted on July 10 of the charge as well as counts of unlawful contact with a minor and indecent assault following a three-day trial. The charges stemmed from offenders assault of a 12-year-old girl in September 2018.
“Instead of treating her like the lovely young lady that she is, he treated her like a piece of meat, like a sexual conquest,” said Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler.
Commending the victim’s courage in coming forward about the assault, Kohler asked Judge Brian T. McGuffin to send a message with Strother’s sentence to other victims of sexual abuse.
McGuffin obliged Kohler’s request by imposing two five-year terms of probation to run consecutive to each other and concurrent to Strother’s prison sentence.
The judge vowed to send Strother to state prison should he violate any condition of his lengthy supervision. Strother also must register as a sex offender for 25 years.
“When you do the hard thing, when you do the brave thing, justice will be served,” Kohler said. “And it will not be for nothing.” The judge, too, praised the victim, lauding the girl’s “wisdom and sensibility.”
“This incident will not define you,” he said. “You are going to go on to do wonderful things.”
The case was investigated by the Bensalem Township Police Department and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler