Mother, Boyfriend Accused Of Severe Abuse Await Chesco Trials

WEST CHESTER, PA — A mother and her boyfriend charged with crimes the district attorney has called “despicable” await trials in Chester County after the woman’s 9-year-old daughter was found to be severely abused and tortured, near death, in late November.

The two accused appeared in Chester County Court on Jan. 7 for formal arraignment and are awaiting trials. Trial dates have not been set, according to court documents.

Bail was set at $350,000 for Julianne Lewis, 31, who remains in Chester County Prison.

Bail was denied for Lewis's boyfriend, Dimitrios Moscharis, 34, who is also in Chester County Prison, according to court documents.

The Chester County District Attorney's Office and the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department late on Thanksgiving Day 2020 charged Lewis, of West Chester, with multiple counts of Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping a Minor, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, False Imprisonment, Conspiracy, and related charges for her alleged role in the brutal beating, systemic abuse, and neglect of her 9-year old daughter.

Moscharis is charged with Attempted Homicide and Strangulation Blocking Nose and Mouth, False Imprisonment of a Minor, Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with Serious Bodily Injury, and other crimes.

The condition of the 9-year-old girl who was beaten nearly to death was last reported as critical, but no update has been available for months. The Chester County District Attorney's Office on Feb. 8 said there were no updates on the victim’s condition. The hospital where the child was taken declined to provide an update on her condition.

The child was last reported in critical condition at Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital in Wilmington, Del. with injuries to multiple organs, extensive bruising all over her body, and likely brain damage due to oxygen deprivation for an extended period, the district attorney's office reported shortly after the abuse was discovered.

Medical professionals assessed the child's injuries to be consistent with trauma and child torture, officials said in November.

As authorities investigated further they discovered both adults participated in the systematic abuse and torture of the child, the district attorney’s office has reported.

Tests showed the child victim likely suffered brain damage because she was deprived of oxygen for a significant time, indicating strangulation or suffocation, official reports said. Doctors also reported injury to the ligaments along her spinal cord, consistent with imprisonment in a small space and the child contorting her body during an assault and/or after the loss of consciousness.

The child's body had bruising patterns consistent with objects found near the bathroom, including a curtain rod, hanger, and other implements, the district attorney's report said.

According to the D.A.'s report, Lewis allowed her boyfriend of two months to "discipline" her 9-year-old daughter in a manner that medical experts in child welfare said are consistent with trauma, torture, and systemic abuse, based on the child's injuries.

To read about a child abuse prevention training program the Chester County District Attorney's Office offers to help adult citizens identify abuse, go here.