LANCASTER COUNTY, PA – Derrick Santryal Myers, 34, from the 200 block of W. Main Street in Strasburg, has been convicted of rape of a child and 21 additional charges related to sex offenses from around 2018. After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated for 35 minutes before reaching the verdict.
The charges include rape by forcible compulsion, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, and several other offenses.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Muller presented evidence, including bottles used in the assaults and a condom with DNA from both the victim and defendant.
Testimonies were heard from the Lancaster County Children’s Alliance and an expert on child sexual assaults. The defense suggested the Children’s Alliance witnesses might be biased and implied the witness’s disclosure might have been coerced. However, Muller argued this couldn’t account for the DNA evidence.
Lancaster County President Judge David Ashworth has ordered further investigations before sentencing. Currently, Myers is held at Lancaster County Prison, with bail set at $1 million.