A Pleasantville man charged with sexually assaulting two children will be detained pending trial to keep children safe, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Sherron Scott, 32, is charged with sexually assaulting two girls, ages 8 and 9, last year while he was dating their mother.
Scott previously was charged with similar crimes, and pleaded down to much lesser offenses in both cases.
“I can’t think of any conditions, personally, that could assure the safety of children in Atlantic County, given the nature of these offenses and given his criminal history,” Assistant Prosecutor Dave Ruffenach told Superior Court Judge Benjamin Poldonick.
The judge agreed.
“An ankle bracelet, sure, it monitors the defendant. Keeps track,” Poldonick said. “But, at the end of the day, if something happens, we find out about it after the fact. And at that point. the damage would be done.
“I can’t allow that to happen,” he continued. “I can’t allow that risk to our community. I can’t allow our children to have potential exposure to a person who may turn out to be a sexual predator.”
Ruffenach detailed the allegations against Scott by the girls, who were brought to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office in July, two days after they shared the allegations with their father.
Both told of separate instances just after they got out of the shower, and Scott touched the genitals and used his fingers to penetrate them.
The older girl also told of a second incident when Scott allegedly made her pull down her pants while he was driving her in his car.
“What’s more disturbing, or just as disturbing, and somewhat unsettling, is that the defendant has prior convictions for a similar act,” Poldonick said.
In 2012, Scott was indicted for sexual assault of a victim ages 13 to 15 years old in Camden County Superior Court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Poldonick noted that such a long incarceration for a first-time crime of the third degree indicated that there was more to the charge.
It is not clear how long Scott actually served, but two years later he was charged again.
This time, out of Atlantic County, he was indicted of first-degree aggravated sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree child cruelty and neglect, and was sentenced to 256 days in the Atlantic County Justice Facility, and three years’ probation.
Due to the charges he pled to, Scott was not required to register as a Megan’s Law offender, even though the victims in both previous cases were underage.
Scott was arrested last week by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victim’s Unit and Egg Harbor Township police, following a months-long investigation.
