Pottstown man sent to jail for assaulting Red Hill woman during disturbance

NORRISTOWN — A Pottstown man will spend some time behind bars for assaulting a Red Hill woman while she was visiting the borough apartment where he lived.

John Robert Scioli Jr., 58, of the 1000 block of Queen Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 8 to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in connection with an October 2023 incident.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman ordered Scioli to have no contact with the victim as a condition of the sentence.

Additionally, the judge said Scioli must undergo drug, alcohol and mental health evaluations prior to his release from jail on parole. Scioli must comply with all recommendations for treatment in accordance with the evaluations.

Scioli will receive credit for the 127 days he has served in jail while awaiting court action on the charge.

The investigation began about 2:25 p.m. Oct. 14, 2023, when Pottstown police responded to Scioli’s residence for a report of a disturbance after an anonymous caller advised that her friend was inside the home and was choked and assaulted, according to a criminal complaint.

Arriving officers found Scioli and the victim in the apartment.

“The victim had a bloody nose and was using tissues to try to stop the bleeding. The victim had a red mark and lump on her forehead. She also had a cut inside her right nostril, which had been causing the bleeding,” Pottstown Police Corporal Brooke Hatfield wrote in the arrest affidavit. “The victim did not initially provide more information but advised that she was scared and wanted to leave.”

The victim later reported that while she was staying overnight at the residence with a friend, Scioli and another unknown male came into the bedroom where she was staying and demanded her cellphone. The males allegedly pushed her to the floor during a struggle for the phone.

“The victim said that she eventually gave up the phone to get the males to stop. She said that the defendant then took a hammer and smashed her cellphone,” Hatfield alleged.

Other charges of aggravated assault, harassment, criminal mischief and conspiracy to commit simple assault and harassment were dismissed against Scioli as part of the plea agreement.

Assistant District Attorney Ani Nicole Hatza handled the case. Defense lawyer Eric Scott Donato represented Scioli during the court proceedings.