By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer
An Oil City man who pleaded guilty in December in three separate cases involving sexual misconduct with three children was sentenced Friday to serve up to 87 years in state prison.
Venango County Judge Robert Boyer ordered William Diamond Jr., 21, to serve a minimum of 27 years in a state facility, with a maximum stay of 87 years.
Diamond had pleaded guilty in the first case to a felony count of rape of a child. He pleaded guilty in the second case to a felony count of unlawful contact with a minor without consent and misdemeanor counts of unlawful restraint and corruption of minors.
Diamond was arrested in July following a monthlong police investigation last summer into the sexual assault of a 9-year-old boy in the Siverly area of Oil City.
On June 15, Diamond took the boy to a secluded area and engaged in sexual intercourse with the child, said Oil City police.
The child returned to his family and immediately reported the incident, which was then reported to Venango County Children and Youth Services, police said.
A forensic interview was done with the boy in early July, and Diamond later met with officers and admitted to the incident, police said.
Diamond was again charged in August with an incident that occurred on July 1, when he went to a swimming hole in Siverly with a 14-year-old boy, police said.
Diamond attempted to show the boy pornography on his phone and tried to inappropriately touch the child, police said.
The boy was eventually able to get free and run away from Diamond, police said.
A third set of charges came in November after a forensic interview conducted with an 11-year-old girl brought forth evidence that Diamond had made inappropriate contact with her on two separate occasions, police said.
In the two instances that happened between last January and July, the girl said Diamond tried to remove her clothing without her consent, police said.
In describing Diamond’s character Friday, Assistant District Attorney Justin Fleeger called him a sexual predator.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that William Diamond is a sexual predator through and through who grooms his victims,” said Fleeger.
Fleeger provided Boyer with victim impact statements from the juvenile girl and her father involved in the third case.
During his pre-sentence investigation, Diamond had said he believed he had been sexually abused as a child, Fleeger said.
“That’s no excuse,” said Fleeger.
“He has a clear understanding that there was inappropriate conduct. This is an individual who avoided (the juvenile girl’s father)…and tried to cover it up,” Fleeger added.
Defense counsel Jeri Bolton argued in favor of rehabilitative treatment and requested the minimum jail stay and maximum supervision allowed.
“William has said he is remorseful, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he did it,” Bolton said. “He would be amenable to treatment and wants to start as soon as possible.”
Diamond offered no comment prior to Boyer’s sentence.
Boyer ordered the three sentences to run consecutively.
Diamond was given credit for 264 days he has already served in the Venango County jail, and he will be required to register as a Tier 3 Megan’s Law offender for the rest of his life.
