A truck driver has been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison for the sexual assault of a woman behind a mechanic shop in Pennsylvania. 

The incident ocurred in October of 2018. The man in question, 41-year-old truck driver Demetrice Herron, was convicted back in March, but was not sentenced until this week. 

According to Fox 43, a woman traveling through Commonwealth, Pennsylvania was gathering items from her disabled car in a lot behind a mechanic’s garage on North Front Street after a car crash. As she was gethering her items, Herron, a truck driver whose car happened to be undergoing repairs at the same shop, approached the woman and struck up some small talk. After a brief conversation, Herron pushed her into her wrecked car and sexually assaulted her. 

 

The woman then returned to her home in New Jersey, where she sought medical treatment and gathered DNA evidence. 

After recieving the report, police tracked down Herron on ly to find him incarcerated in North Carolina for another, separate crime. Detectives then gathered DNA evidence from Herron, and were able to match it to the DNA evidence collected from the woman. 

Because Herron has been previously convicted of a violent crime – home invasion burglary – he could serve as many as 20 years in jail, with a minimum sentence of 10 years served. Herron will also be listed on Meghan’s Law, a website that lists sex offenders, for life, reported ABC 27 News.

 

“This trial brought witnesses from throughout the Commonwealth, New Jersey, and North Carolina to hold the defendant accountable for his violent actions,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle said in a statement.  “Herron has a significant prior record in North Carolina, and we are thankful that the community will be protected from him for a long time.”