Vermeal gets four more years for child molestation
Four more years will be tacked on to the sentence of a convicted child molester for his attempted molestation of an 8-year-old girl.
The defendant, Joseph Vermeal, 53, was sentenced to four years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley. The sentence came for Vermeal’s recent conviction on the charge of attempted aggravated sexual battery. The time will be in addition to the nine years he is currently serving for molesting another 8-year-old girl in his apartment on the same day and around the same time he attempted to molest the other victim.
The charges against Vermeal, who worked as a maintenance man at a local apartment complex, stemmed from incidents which occurred at a block party over three years ago. During the trials, prosecutors proved Vermeal lured the girls into his apartment with the promise of popsicles on the hot summer day.
The first girl, for whom Vermeal is serving nine years, maintained he lured her into his bedroom to jump on his bed and molested her there.
The second girl, for whom Vermeal was sentenced recently, said she was in the living room when Vermeal came up behind her and fondled her underneath her clothing.
The defense for Vermeal maintained the second girl had reason to lie because she had gotten into trouble for going into a stranger’s house and because her father faced possible prosecution for beating up Vermeal.
In addition to jail time, Vermeal must register himself with the state’s sexual offender registry which keeps track of convicted sex offenders.