A Philadelphia man accused of an indecent assault in Springfield Township last year was bound over for Common Pleas Court on all charges Thursday, following a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Michael Culp.
The alleged victim said in court that Edisson Nicholas Pichardo Jerez “grabbed, turned, pinned” and sexually assaulted her after posing as a Lyft driver and taking her home as a fare in June 2024.
Pichardo Jerez, 33, of the 3900 block of Dungan Street, was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport on July 17 after he allegedly tried to flee the country to the Dominican Republic, according to Assistant District Attorney Bryan Barth.
The only reason police were able to take him into custody at that time is because the plane had to be de-boarded for another reason, Barth said.
Pichardo Jerez is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and two counts of aggravated indecent assault, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor charges of simple assault, harassment and two counts of indecent assault.
According to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest written by Springfield Detective Randall Kennedy:
The alleged victim reported the assault on Sept. 16, 2024, and said that it occurred at her residence in the township between 10:43 and 11:28 p.m. on June 15.
The woman provided an interview in which she said she called a Lyft to take her from a location in Broomall to her residence and was picked up by a Honda Accord at 10:43 p.m.
The driver was described as a Hispanic male who did not speak English. A Spanish-language interpreter was present and translating for Thursday’s hearing.
The alleged victim told Kennedy that once they arrived at her destination, she struggled getting to the door of her residence with her belongings due to her own level of intoxication and that Pichardo Jerez walked with her.
Pichardo Jerez then entered the home unbidden behind the alleged victim and assaulted her, she said.
The woman provided additional details of that alleged assault in court on Thursday.
She said that she exited the vehicle with her dog and a bag and made her way to the front door. Pichardo Jerez, meanwhile, took a second bag out of the car and walked alongside her and just behind her toward the door, she said.
The woman said she unlocked the front door and pushed it open. She said she entered and let go of the dog leash, which had been wrapped around her legs, and put down the bag she was carrying. Pichardo Jerez allegedly placed the bag he was carrying at the corner of a couch and pointed to it.
The assault came as the woman bent over to get that bag, she said, when Pichardo Jerez grabbed her by both shoulders from behind. She also demonstrated her positioning in court.
“He pulls me back and (puts me) up against a wall, and he starts kissing me and he assaults me,” she told defense counsel Anna Hinchman. “Grabbed, turned, pinned. Now he’s in front of me. He grabbed me from behind, turned me around and pinned me up against a wall. Now we’re face to face.”
She said Pichardo Jerez held her there and put his mouth over hers, she believes, more to keep her from screaming than anything else. The alleged victim said Pichardo Jerez simultaneously put one of his hands down the front of her stretch-material pants and under her underwear. She said he digitally penetrated her in that position, but did not do anything else.
“He was interested in one thing and one thing only,” she said.
The alleged victim estimated the assault went on for 10 to 15 minutes before her mother called out to her, startling the defendant. She said her instincts kicked in when he pulled away for a second and she was able to shove him out the door and lock it.
The woman said the dog was in the house somewhere while the assault was going on. She said she did not talk to her mother that night or the following day and did not seek medical treatment. She was unsure if any neighbors have surveillance cameras, but said there are none at her home.
Pichardo Jerez got back into the Honda and left, according to the affidavit.
The woman provided police with snapshots of the Lyft receipt showing a pickup at 10:43 p.m. as a Lyft Standard Ride and that the driver’s name was “Johanan.”
Investigators spoke with Johanan Sept. 30, and he was adamant he had allowed another man he identified as Pichardo Jerez to use his Lyft account that night. He provided a phone number, identifying information and a picture of a New York driver’s license for the defendant. He said he allowed Pichardo Jerez to use the account for the past few months because he was in the country illegally and could not find work.
Police were able to confirm the phone number, license plate of the Honda and other information through search warrants with the phone provider and Lyft, and obtained license plate reader camera information showing the Honda near the pick-up location at the time listed on the Lyft receipt. The Honda was registered to Pichardo Jerez’s mother, the affidavit states.
Pichardo Jerez spoke to Kennedy through an interpreter officer on Dec. 3, 2024, and confirmed the identifying information already gathered by police. He also admitted to using the other man’s Lyft account on June 15 and said he remembered driving the alleged victim home.
“Pichardo Jerez admitted helping the victim into their home,” the affidavit states. “He said he helped with the victim’s dog and bags they were carrying. He said that once inside the victim’s home, the victim approached him with no pants on. He did not go near the victim and instead turned and left.”
Pichardo Jerez also allegedly told the police that the intoxicated woman patted him on the crotch as they were entering the home and that she had grabbed him, but he did not touch her at all.
The alleged victim said Thursday that she was not initially aware of any injuries she sustained in the encounter, but has had to have “trigger shots” in her shoulders because they are stuck “up.”
Hinchman argued at the hearing’s conclusion to dismiss the trespassing, burglary and simple assault charges, saying there was no testimony that her client entered the premises unlawfully with any intention of committing a crime and that the alleged victim indicated she was actually happy for his help with the bag at first. She also said there was no evidence of any injuries.
Barth countered that the woman did say she needed shots in both shoulders, where Pichardo Jerez allegedly grabbed her, and that he did apparently have criminality on his mind when coming into her home, based on what the alleged victim said happened just a few seconds later.
Judge Culp held Pichardo Jerez over for Common Pleas Court on all counts and set a formal arraignment for Nov. 5 at the County Courthouse in Media.
Hinchman also moved to reduce bail from 10% of $500,000 to unsecured bail with a monitor. She said Pichardo Jerez has been in custody at the county jail in Concord for more than two months, but has no record or detainers and significant family support locally.
Hinchman also said Pichardo Jerez was unlikely to flee, but Barth pointed to the circumstances of his arrest in arguing against any kind of bail reduction. The judge opted to keep bail where it is.