Avis man found guilty in indecent assault of three women
LOCK HAVEN, PA – Eric Montague King, 45, recently of Lafayette Street in Avis, was convicted of seven of eight crimes charged by a Clinton County jury on Thursday, following a one day trial.
The jury returned guilty verdicts on three counts of indecent assault, second degree misdemeanors, and one count of harassment, a third degree misdemeanor. President Judge Craig P. Miller, who presided over the trial, also found King guilty of three additional charges of summary harassment.
King had been charged for making unwanted sexual and physical contact with three women on three separate occasions in Avis and Pine Creek Township in September and November of 2020. At trial all three of the victims testified against King. The first woman, a 36 year old, testified that King has entered onto her property and groped her breasts from behind in September of last year. She described how King then forced her, dragging her, to the rear of her residence. She described the fear and terror that she experienced not knowing what King intended to do to her and she said she “fought with everything she had” to get away. The woman said her two large dogs heard her struggling and scared King away.
The second woman, a 66 year old, testified that she was walking her dog when she encountered King who was also walking his two dogs in Avis on September 23, 2020. She said that King almost immediately started making overt sexual comments to her and stated how he could pleasure her in explicit detail. The woman testified that she tried to walk away and told King to stop, but he proceeded to walk after her and continue making explicit comments to her. Stating that she became fearful of King when he wouldn’t stop, she decided to stay in public areas and near main roads and did not return to her home out of fear that King would follow her to her residence. She described how King then made unwanted physical contact with her that was sexual in nature, which she told him to stop. She described how King proceeded to an apparent attempt to pleasure himself as she was next to him. After approximately an hour, she said that King made a statement that he was “giving up” and that she was able to get away from him and go back to her home. She described being fearful of King and became emotional during her testimony. In total, she said she told King to stop making sexual comments to her “at least ten times.”
The third woman, an 81 year old, testified that King approached a man later identified to be King approached her in the parking lot as she exited the Dollar General store in Pine Creek Township in November of 2020. King offered to help put the items she had purchased into her car. King reportedly helped with her bags and then asked to sit with her in her car for five minutes. After the woman refused, King “asked for a hug” and then touched the woman’s groin. None of the women had ever met King prior to their assaults, but all three pointed him out in front of the jury as the man they encountered.
When he was arrested, King told arresting officer Sgt. Dennis Gill of Pine Creek Township Police that he didn’t do anything wrong, claiming that he “just hugged” the women. District Attorney Dave Strouse prosecuted the case for the Commonwealth. In his closing he described King as a “predator,” and told the jury “this is the man that we warn our children about. This is the man we pray that none of our loved ones ever encounter.”
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before returning the verdict. King was found not guilty of one count of stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree. King was ordered to be evaluated by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board (SOAB) to determine if he should be classified as a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) pursuant to Megan’s Law. He is scheduled for sentencing on March 7, 2022.
King faces a potential maximum penalty of seven years and nine months in prison.
Source: Clinton County District Attorney’s Office
Sourced via CRIMEWATCH®: https://clinton.crimewatchpa.com/da/133000/post/avis-man-found-guilty-indecent-assault-3-women
