19-year-old man arrested for gunpoint rape of woman at Norristown Farm Park, officials say
Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. - A 19-year-old man has been arrested and faces numerous charges in a violent sexual assault of a woman that happened Aug. 2017.
Mason Alexander Hall, 19 of West Norriton, reportedly held a woman at gunpoint, forced her into a secluded pasture and sexually assaulted her.
The victim, who was 19, was attacked from behind, which limited her ability to describe Hall beyond wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt.
However, investigators were able to recover DNA from the attack.
“Since we had our attacker’s DNA, we always knew who he was,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said.
Even with the DNA evidence, it took investigators 27 months in order to track down Hall and make the arrest.
Immediately following the attack, officers canvassed the park, brought in a tracking dog and reviewed surveillance videos.
“This arrest represents thousands of hours of focused police work by the two detectives overseeing this case as well as our support staff,” Steele said. “These detectives never gave up.”
Detectives that worked the case relied on forensics to create a composite illustration of what the perpetrator looked like and interviewed numerous relatives with similar DNA.
Eventually, the FBI helped on the case to narrow down the suspects to Hall. Ultimately, detectives were able to secure evidence from a bloody hammer that had a match to Hall’s DNA sample from the crime.
Hall has been charged weapons-related and assault-related counts including Deviate Sexual Intercourse, Sexual Assault, Terroristic Threats and more. Hall is being held on a $1 million cash bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25.