NORRISTOWN — An Upper Providence man was sent to jail after he admitted to having sexual contact with an underage girl, in a wooded area near his home, after he met her on social media platforms.
Edward Eugene Wilson Jr., 22, of the unit block of Hunt Club Drive, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of statutory sexual assault and possession of child pornography in connection with a July 2022 incident involving a 15-year-old girl.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also ordered Wilson to complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning Wilson will be under court supervision for about four years.
Wilson will be eligible for the jail’s work release program but only after serving six months in jail. The judge ordered Wilson to have no contact with the victim or her family.
The judge ordered Wilson to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment. Wilson will be placed under sex offender supervision while serving his sentence.
Additionally, Wilson faces a 25-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 girl told police that she met Wilson, who claimed to be 18 years old but was actually 20, through Instagram and also communicated with him via the social media app Snapchat.
The investigation began about 3:30 a.m. July 26, 2022, when Upper Providence police on routine patrol on Hunt Club Drive spotted the teenage girl walk behind several bushes. When police made contact with the girl she revealed that she had just met with Wilson, according to a criminal complaint.
The girl reported Wilson purchased an Uber ride to pick her up at her residence at 1 a.m. and transport her to his township residence.
When police interviewed Wilson, he admitted to communicating with the girl through social media apps and that they decided to meet in person. Wilson told police that once the girl arrived at his residence, “he dragged a mattress to a remote location, on a rock bed, next to the Perkiomen Trail off Upper Indian Head Road,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Providence Police Officer Sean Franchini.
“Mr. Wilson admitted that he did have sexual intercourse with the child,” alleged Franchini, adding Wilson admitted to telling the girl that he was 18 years old instead of 20 “due to the fact he was nervous that his actual age would scare the child away from meeting him due to the age gap.”
When investigators reviewed the contents of Wilson’s cellphone they recovered three sexually explicit videos depicting Wilson having sexual contact with the girl. Additionally, police found a conversation between Wilson and the girl in which the girl disclosed that she was 15 years old and Wilson claimed to be 18, according to the criminal complaint.
Other charges of unlawful contact or communication with a minor and corruption of a minor were dismissed against Wilson.
