Chester County man faces prison for assaulting woman he met on Grindr app
NORRISTOWN — A Chester County man will spend up to two years in prison for assaulting a woman in Pottstown after meeting her on a dating app.
Miguel Angel Sanchez, 33, of the unit block of Dare Lane, East Coventry Township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to one to two years in a state correctional institution after he pleaded guilty to charges of strangulation and indecent assault by forcible compulsion in connection with a June 2022 incident in the borough.
Judge Thomas C. Branca also ordered Sanchez to complete two years of probation consecutive to parole, meaning Sanchez will be under court supervision for about four years.
Sanchez also faces a 15-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, previously known as Megan's Law.
The investigation began about 1:30 p.m. June 22, 2022, when Pottstown police responded to the 200 block of Shoemaker Road after a passerby reported witnessing a possible sexual assault of a woman in the back of a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
The witness, who had been walking on a nearby parking lot, reported hearing someone screaming "help me" and observed a male grabbing the victim and attempting to pull her back into a vehicle, according to court papers.
The victim told arriving officers that she was in the back seat of Sanchez's vehicle when he began touching her, which made her feel uncomfortable.
"(The victim) stated she tried to exit the vehicle, at which time the male began pulling on her wrists and neck attempting to pull her back in the vehicle," Pottstown Police Corporal Todd Istenes alleged in the criminal complaint. "(The victim) stated she forced the back car door open and was then shoved out of the vehicle by the male. (The victim) stated the male then drove off."
Police observed "redness" on the victim's neck and lower back but she refused medical treatment.
The victim was able to take a photograph of the license plate of the Mercedes vehicle that was ultimately linked to Sanchez.
The victim subsequently told police she had met Sanchez on the social media app Grindr and that the two agreed to meet on a parking lot of a shopping center on Shoemaker Road. Upon meeting, the victim got in the back seat of Sanchez's vehicle, according to court documents.
The victim said Sanchez got into the back seat and then smacked her in the face and choked her and got on top of her but she was able to push him off. The victim said Sanchez appeared "mad" and that when she attempted to get out of the vehicle Sanchez grabbed her and tried to pull her back inside, according to court papers.
Sanchez initially drove off, preventing the woman from exiting the vehicle. However, Sanchez eventually stopped the vehicle, re-entered the back seat and pushed the victim out of the vehicle, causing her to strike her head on the paved surface, according to the arrest affidavit.
The witness who was walking nearby came to the aid of the victim and police were notified.
Armed with the vehicle registration identification and photos, police developed Sanchez as a suspect in the assault. The victim later was shown a photo lineup and positively identified Sanchez as the man who assaulted her, court documents indicate.
Other charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment were dismissed against Sanchez.
