Towamencin man sent to jail for sexually abusing boy, 12

NORRISTOWN – A Towamencin Township man is headed to prison after admitting to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.

Joseph Edward Slover, 25, of the 300 block of Erie Drive, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 2½ to 6 years in a state prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of statutory sexual assault in connection with incidents that occurred in August. August 28, 2023, in Towamencin and Upper Gwynedd townships.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea deal in the case, also ordered Slover to complete two years of probation following parole, meaning Slover will be under court supervision for eight years.

The judge ordered Slover to be placed under the supervision of a sex offender and ordered him to have no contact with the victim.

Slover also faces a 25-year obligation to report his address to state police to comply with the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, formerly known as Megan’s Law.

Other charges of rape of a child, sexual assault of a child, involuntary deviate from sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated sexual assault of a minor and corruption of a minor were dismissed against Slover as part of the plea agreement.

Court documents do not show how Slover met the boy.

However, in September 2023, “due to an investigation into another matter,” the victim gave detectives permission to download the contents of his cell phone, according to a criminal complaint filed by Upper Gwynedd Township Detective Sergeant Robert Pro III.

While reviewing the contents of the boy’s cell phone, detectives discovered conversations he had with Slover, who was 24 years old at the time. During the conversations, Slover and the victim discussed sexual acts and agreed to meet on Aug. 28, according to court documents.

Slover picked up the boy in a parking lot in Upper Gwynedd and then drove the boy to his apartment where he sexually assaulted the boy, the complaint said.

The victim told detectives that Slover repeatedly called him “little boy” during the interactions. After Slover sexually assaulted the boy, he drove the victim back to the victim’s neighborhood and dropped him off.

“They stopped communicating afterward because the victim believed Slover had blocked the victim’s number,” Pro alleged in the arrest affidavit.

During the investigation, detectives reviewed cell phone records that showed Slover’s cell phone was located near the pickup location at the time specified by the victim.

The victim told detectives he observed a purple stuffed animal on the dashboard of Slover’s vehicle, which detectives observed while monitoring Slover and confirmed as the investigation continued, court documents show.

During the investigation, four other men from Montgomery and Bucks counties were accused of inappropriate contact with the same boy. Their cases are still pending in Montgomery County Court, according to court records.