The Virginia man accused of running off to Washington, D.C. last year with a 13-year-old Main Line girl he met on the Internet will spend the next 15 to 30 years behind bars.
In a Delaware County courtroom yesterday, Ashley Hareford pleaded guilty to indecent deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, aggravated indecent sexual assault of a minor and corruption of a minor, according to court records. A judge sentenced him to 15 to 30 years in prison.
Eight other counts were dismissed as part of the plea deal. Hareford, 20, faced up to 100 year in prison if he was found guilty on all counts.
Hareford reportedly admitted to investigators that he engaged in sexual acts with the Radnor girl in a wooded area near the King of Prussia Mall before leaving the area in December last year.
"He utilized her to engage in sexual acts upon him," said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan.
Hareford, who hails from Grottoes, Va., was arrested when he and the teen got off a bus in Washington D.C. Hareford was brought back to Pennsylvania to face charges while his teenage victim was returned to her parents.
The father of the teenage girl says his daughter met Hareford online and had conversations with him. Investigators said they discovered an “inappropriate” picture in their online interaction, although it was not pornographic.
"Anytime you have a 20-year-old pursuing a 13-year-old on the Internet, that individual is a predator, period, end of story," said Radnor Police Chief Bill Colarulo.
Photo Credit: NBC10 Philadelphia