WJPA News Archive

Elco Man Guilty Of Child Rape

November 17, 2023 2:45 am

A Washington County man who faced charges of child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and child endangerment received his punishment. After a three day jury trial, Jerome Stewart, 40 of Elco was convicted on 11 of 12 counts that he faced. Stewart was accused of sexual assault of an 8 year old that over the course of 10 years miscarried a pregnancy at age 13 and delivered a baby at age 15. DNA evidence presented at the end of the trial showed that the probability that Jerome Stewart was the father of the victims child was 99.9999998%. The jury took just 90 minutes to find Stewart guilty of the child rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, child endangerment and 8 other assault related felonies and misdemeanors. The jury did find Stewart not guilty on a tampering with evidence charge. Stewart was accused of taking the fetus of the victim’s miscarriage and sealing it in a glass jar and carrying it with them every time they moved residences. This conviction is not the end of the line for Stewart. He still faces 5 other criminal cases for sexual assault of minors and 30 counts of child pornography. Stewart was offered a plea deal on all 6 cases of 30-60 years in prison. According to prosecutors, on the conviction of child rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, Stewart faces 10 to 20 years in prison at minimum on both counts. Stewart will be sentenced on February 9, 2024.

Jury Deliberations Underway In Trial Of Elco Man

November 16, 2023 2:49 am

Jury deliberations are underway in the trial of 40 year old Jerome Stewart of Elco. He is accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile beginning at age 8 and continuing the assaults for more than a decade. Testimony began Wednesday as it ended on day one. The other half sister of the victim testified to the relationship that the victim had with Jerome Stewart. Both relatives described sexual acts between Stewart and his underage victim. They described their experiences when the victim miscarried in her first pregnancy at age 13. Much of the day’s testimony came from hospital professionals and nurses that tended to the victim when she miscarried and several years later delivering a son via c-section at age 15. The chief Washington County Detective detailed the chain of evidence possession that verified DNA and paternity results of the victim’s pregnancy. The most revealing testimony came from Mark Lind. He is a friend of Jerome Stewart who came across the jar in which Stewart sealed the fetus from the victim’s first pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage. Lind stated that when asked by Stewart if he found the jar he stated that he did and threw it in the trash. Lind stated During the conversation that Stewart told him it was a fetus of the victim and he was the father.  The jury received the case and began deliberations late Thursday morning.