A Florida man was recently convicted of sexual abuse against four children in Lancaster County over a period of 20 years, starting in 1984.
Tony Cruz was convicted of numerous felonies, including several counts of rape of a child, following a three-day trial in Lancaster County Court.
Assistant District Attorney Karen Mansfield presented evidence that Cruz abused the children at multiple locations from 1984 to 2004. (Cruz then moved to Florida.)
The four victims, now adults, all testified.
The jury deliberated about 90 minutes before deciding the case on Sept. 11.
At the verdict, Lancaster County Judge Donald Totaro raised Cruz’s bail to $2 million.
Judge Totaro presided over the trial and will order sentence after a background investigation is completed in a couple months.
Lancaster city police Detective Aaron Harnish filed charges.
Judge Totaro will also make a determination on Cruz’s status as a sexually violent predator when the judge orders sentence on the 14 counts.
At trial, ADA Mansfield also called to testify witnesses to the abuse, who were also children when it happened.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright