NORRISTOWN — A jury has convicted an 83-year-old Lower Merion Township man of having indecent contact with an underage girl in the township.
Dale Sattar, of the 200 block of River Road, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of misdemeanor charges of indecent assault of a child under 13 and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with an incident that occurred in 2021 while the girl was in Sattar’s company.
The jury deliberated about two hours before reaching the verdict.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who presided over the two-day trial, deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Sattar, who will undergo a psychosexual evaluation.
Sattar remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing. Sattar faces a sentence that could range between probation and up to several years in prison.
The investigation began in May 2023 when Lower Merion detectives received a ChildLine referral that a girl alleged that Sattar touched her inappropriately while she was in his company several years earlier and when she was under the age of 13. The girl, who testified at trial, claimed the inappropriate contact occurred when she was traveling in a car with Sattar.
The victim did not tell her parents about the incident but eventually told a friend about what happened, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion Detective John Mick.
Another child who was present during the incident corroborated the victim’s testimony.
When he testified for the jury, Sattar denied doing anything inappropriate with the child.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Deckel handled the case. Defense lawyer Donald Bermudez represented Sattar during the trial.
