NORRISTOWN — A Montgomery County jury acquitted a Norristown man of sexually assaulting a woman but convicted him of having indecent contact with her after a night of drinking during a Christmas Eve celebration at his home.
Wilso Felipe-Aldana, 26, of the 700 block of Chain Street, was acquitted of felony charges of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault in connection with his contact with a woman in the early morning hours of Dec. 25, 2023, at his residence. However, the jury, after a three-day trial, convicted Felipe-Aldana of a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault without consent in connection with the incident.
The jury deliberated about 2½ hours before reaching the verdict.
Felipe-Aldana bowed his head as the verdict was announced but showed no other outward emotion. A Spanish interpreter assisted him during the trial.
Felipe-Aldana did not comment about the outcome of the trial as he was escorted from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.
“The jury, by finding him guilty of indecent assault, found that he did touch (the victim) in a private or intimate area for his own sexual gratification,” said Assistant District Attorney Caroline Rose Goldstein.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who presided over the trial, deferred sentencing so that court officials could complete a background investigation report about Felipe-Aldana. The judge ordered that Felipe-Aldana undergo a psychosexual evaluation before sentencing. He remains in the county jail without bail while awaiting sentencing.
Felipe-Aldana also faces an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, which will determine if he meets the criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions while on parole or probation.
Felipe-Aldana faces a possible maximum sentence of one to two years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence of a few months in jail. Felipe-Aldana has been in jail since Dec. 25 while awaiting trial on the charges and would receive credit for that time.
“What I will be seeking is that he gets as much jail time as he can within the guidelines and that he have a lengthy parole and probationary period because I do think this is somebody who needs to be monitored,” Goldstein said.
Testimony revealed that the incident occurred after a night of drinking among friends during a Christmas Eve celebration.
During the trial, Goldstein alleged Felipe-Aldana sexually assaulted the woman after she retired to a second-floor bedroom during the Christmas Eve celebration.
The woman told investigators, she was awakened when Felipe-Aldana walked into the room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman claimed she said “stop you’re hurting me” and that Felipe-Aldana responded “be quiet, it’s going to be ok, everything is going to be fine,” according to a criminal complaint filed by Norristown detectives Stephen Sowell and Joshua Keenan.
But Felipe-Aldana, who was represented by defense lawyer John Pavloff, claimed that he left the third-floor bedroom he shared with his wife to go to a second-floor bathroom and that “he was intoxicated and was disoriented and went into the bedroom where he thought his wife was” and got in bed and laid next to who was actually the victim, according to court documents. Felipe-Aldana denied having sexual or indecent contact with the woman.
When the victim uttered her boyfriend’s name, Felipe-Aldana said “he realized he was in the wrong bedroom,” got up and returned to his room, according to the criminal complaint.
“There is a substantial difference in size, layout and furnishing between the two bedrooms,” Sowell and Keenan alleged.
Regardless of the sentence that Felipe-Aldana receives, he will be required to report his address to state police for 15 years to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.
