Norristown Man Charged in Brutal Beating and Rape of Deaf, Mute Man

According to The Times Herald, a Norristown man is scheduled to be arraigned for allegedly sexually assaulting, beating and then later robbing a deaf and mute Norristown man in May.

A preliminary hearing was reportedly held in Schwenksville on Friday, July 6, for 27-year-old Rondell K. Hartman, of the 400 block of West Main St. According to the Herald, the district attorney's office withdrew the original robbery and kidnapping charges against Hartman and instead filed rape, deviant sexual intercourse, aggravated assault and other related charges stemming from the victim's statement to police.

"These are horrendous charges," Assistant District Attorney Abby Silverman told the Herald. "A sexual assault on a deaf, mute individual — and after the sexual assault, he beat him, almost to the point of unconsciousness."

According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim, who is both deaf and mute, reported to the that he was walking on the 400 block of West Main Street at around 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, when Hartman allegedly came up behind him and grabbed his bag. The victim tried to fight Hartman off, attempting to use pepper spray on him, but Hartman allegedly beat him to the ground and made off with the bag.

The next day, the police reportedly found the bag near Hartman's home. Hours later, police spotted Hartman riding a bike in the area of Main Street and Haws Avenue and recognized him from the description given by the victim. Hartman was taken into custody and later identified by the victim from a photo line-up.

On Tuesday, June 26, the victim reportedly gave another statement to police alleging that more had happened involving his encounter with Hartman on May 31. The victim reportedly reported that Hartman forced him to perform oral sex near the trail by the , apparently believing the victim to be a woman. Once Hartman realized his error, he reportedly stopped the encounter and viciously beat him before riding off on a bicycle. 

Hartman reportedly has a prior police record and is allegedly not a U.S. citizen. He's scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, Aug. 15.

Read more about Hartman and the case against him here.