York County judge gives man 20 years for years of sex abuse, revenge porn at teen’s school
A Virginia man who abused a South Carolina girl for three years before trying to shame her by leaving “revenge porn” at her school received 20 years in prison Monday for crimes police and prosecutors said were among the worst ever seen in York County.
Judge Dan Hall sentenced John DiGeronimo, 64, to the maximum of 20 years under a plea deal with prosecutors where the victim avoided having to testify in public about the crimes against her. DiGeronimo faced more than 130 charges before the deal. He pleaded guilty in criminal court to a single count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
Because John DiGeronimo was in jail for almost five years after arrest before admitting to his crimes, he could get out after around 15 years.
DiGeronimo met the victim online in 2017 when she was 14 years old in the ninth grade, then sexually abused her for three years. Deputies arrested him in March 2020 where he lived in Alexandria, Virginia after he spread packets of about 100 explicit photos of the victim at an area high school that she went to at the time.
School officials confiscated the materials before students and staff saw the photos. The Herald does not identify victims of sexual assault and is not naming the victim, where she lives or what school she attended.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said in court DiGeronimo’s crimes were “indescribable.”
“This was actually a murder — a murder of innocence,” Tolson said.
Tolson said the state does not give the death penalty for the sex crime DiGeronimo pleaded guilty to. But the sheriff said to Judge Hall: “If this man were a dog, he would be put down.”
Hall said the facts of the case were “shocking.” The community needs to get the message in the case that demonstrates the seriousness of online communication involving children, he said before sentencing.
Hall said the penalty given Monday could be the equivalent of a life sentence because of DiGeronimo’s age and life expectancy for prison inmates. DiGeronimo is not eligible for parole and must register as a sex offender upon release if he finishes.
Prosecutors: Sex abuse, then attempt to shame
DiGeronimo made dozens of trips to York County to meet the victim for sexual meetings, prosecutors said. A rebuffed DiGeronimo then moved to attack her reputation with the porn release and haunt her and her family, prosecutor Matthew Hogge said in court Monday.
Hogge said deputies found DiGeronimo had more than 1,000 photos and videos of the victim in sex acts he had taken over three years.
“Carefully, maliciously, (DiGeronimo) was on this highway of revenge,” Hogge said. “Rather than exit off of that highway, he wanted to drop this nuclear bomb on her and her life.”
The police probe into DiGeronimo’s electronics found he had thousands of child porn photos and videos from the victim and other minors, Hogge said.
Kevin Brackett, York County’ top prosecutor, said DiGeronimo’s crimes were among the worst cases in his 30-plus year career.
“It wasn’t enough for Mr. DiGeronimo to take this young girl’s innocence,” Brackett said in court. “After she tried to stop what he was doing and reclaim her life ... He came to destroy her and hold her up to ridicule and humiliate her...“
The victim did not appear in court. Statements from the victim and her family read in court said DiGeronimo’s actions left her both scared and scarred.
Defense asks that DiGeronimo not die in prison
DiGeronimo did not speak in court Monday.
He is a divorced electrical engineer who had no criminal record before 2020, said one of his lawyers, Chris Wellborn of Rock Hill. DiGeronimo had been the longest serving inmate in York County awaiting trial — 1,692 days in custody. He was arrested in March 2020 and had been denied bail ever since.
Wellborn and Gary Lemel, another attorney, asked for a sentence where DiGeronimo would not die in prison.
Wellborn and Lemel said DiGeronimo is a human being — not an animal.
“He is a man with deep flaws,” Lemel said. “But he deserves to be treated as a human being.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 4:59 PM.
