Former Plymouth man, convicted of sexually assaulting two girls, seeks lower sentence

WILKES-BARRE — A former Plymouth man convicted by a Luzerne County jury of sexually assaulting two girls filed a motion seeking a reduction of his 15-to-30 year state prison sentence.

Dylan Thomas Williams, 23, further wants a new trial claiming evidence did not support the jury’s verdicts, a shoddy investigation and errors made by his attorney during the two day trial.

Kingston police and county detectives arrested Williams in October 2019 when two girls, then ages 15 and 13, came forward claiming he sexually assaulted them in Pringle and Plymouth.

Both girls were questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children’s Advocacy Center in Wilkes-Barre. After Williams was arrested and released on bail, he relocated to Barton, N.Y.

After Williams was convicted following a two-day trial before President Judge Michael T. Vough in April 2021, he obtained a new lawyer, Helen A. Stolinas, of State College.

Williams was convicted of rape, aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, indecent assault involving one girl, and indecent assault and corruption of minors involving the second girl.

Vough sentenced Williams Jan. 6 to a total of 15-to-30 years in state prison on all convicted counts. Prior to being sentenced, Vough deemed Williams to be a violent sexual predator resulting in a lifetime registration of his address, employment and vehicle ownership under the state’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

In the motion, Stolinas claimed Williams was wrongly sentenced on the rape verdict to a mandatory term of 10 to 20 years and should had received a prison term of four years to less than six years.

Stolinas further argued in the motion the girls indicated a lack of memory regarding the assaults when they testified before the jury, and Kingston police never attempted to obtain phone records of Williams’ alleged confession to his girlfriend.

Stolinas claimed in the motion Williams’ trial lawyer played the entire video of the girls’ interviews with a forensic interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center that only “bolstered” instead of impeach prosecution witnesses, and failed to object to certain testimony.

Deputy State Attorney General Rebecca A. Elo, who prosecuted, filed a response that only referred to the mandatory sentence of a rape conviction.

“Regardless of the application of the mandatory sentence, it is squarely within the court’s power and sentencing discretion to sentence (Williams) to the statutory maximum of 10-20 years on the charge of rape,” Elo stated in her response.

Vough scheduled a hearing Feb. 23 on Williams’ motion for a reduction of sentence and new trial.