80-160 years in prison for repeat sex offenders

A repeat sex offender described as a “dangerous oddball” by Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Scanlon was sentenced to 80 to 160 years in prison in June 2021 for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl.

This is a de facto life sentence for David L. White, 51, of the 400 block of Penn Street in Chester. He was convicted at the hearing in August on charges of indecent assault on a person under 13, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor and aggravated indecent assault on a person under 13.

Scanlon imposed consecutive sentences on each charge as recommended by Deputy District Attorney Kristen Kemp, head of the Special Victims Unit. These included three consecutive prison terms of 25 to 50 years for indecent assault, unlawful touching and aggravated indecent assault charges, as well as two consecutive sentences of 2.5 to 5 years for corruption and endangerment charges.

White, who insisted on representing himself as backup counsel for defense attorney Jeffrey Gold, was also considered a sexually violent predator, according to the Sexual Offender Evaluation Board’s evaluation and report.

“(You) admitted to having a strong attraction to prepubescent women, and this is where you were diagnosed with pedophilic disorder,” Scanlon said. “That’s definitely a medical term. In layman’s terms, this just shows that you’re a dangerous weirdo.

An hour to condemn

Jurors heard testimony from a 15-year-old boy who witnessed White attack the victim in bed. She was 12 years old on June 27, 2021, when she said she saw the little girl with her pants down and White “used his hands” to do things to her.

“I can’t say what happened, but I know his hand shouldn’t have been there,” the witness said. “All I saw was his hands moving inappropriately.”

The boy said he texted his mother, who advised him to get his siblings together and try to catch the victim. He said he couldn’t get her away from White, and the mother sent another adult to pick up the children from the home on Penn Street.

That woman said White refused to hand over the victim. He said the boy was taking a bath and said he could hear the sound of running water, but he also kept the girl near him and she appeared to be crying.

The woman contacted the victim’s mother, taking the other children waiting on the porch with her.

The mother stated that she came home but found the house empty. He later learned that White’s girlfriend was at work near Widener University and went there.

When he arrived, he said, he found White in the backseat of his car with the victim. He took the girl to the hospital where a rape test was performed.

The swabs contained DNA from a fraction of sperm that was matched to White through a national database of registered stored samples. A second sample taken directly from White confirmed that his DNA was found in the girl’s rectum.

The forensic expert who presented this evidence said the odds that the DNA belonged to someone else were one in 160 octillion for the African American population, or 160 followed by 27 zeros. To put that in perspective, he said there are only about eight billion people in the world, or eight followed by nine zeros.

White candidly admitted to the jury at trial that he was sentenced to 11.5 years in prison for raping two 7-year-old boys in 1997, but claimed he had changed and denied the allegations in that case.

He repeatedly questioned whether the DNA sample was taken “on” or “inside” the girl, and claimed that he had masturbated at one point, which could have been transferred to the girl from the sheets or the toilet seat.

However, Kemp noted that there was no other DNA evidence other than White’s.

Kemp also stated that the girl’s medical examination revealed that her private parts were irritated.

In a brief closing statement, White said he was prevented from making the type of defense he wanted because he could not examine the now-7-year-old victim on the stand.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before returning a guilty verdict on all charges.

Arguments in sentencing

White did not dispute the Sex Offender Review Board’s findings, but refused to sign a form acknowledging that he had read and understood the sex offender rules, commenting only briefly that he maintained his innocence. He asked for a prison sentence of 25 to 50 years.

Kemp argued that White’s criminal history and apparent inability to rehabilitate warranted the 80 to 160 years he sought. He noted that if he had been tried consecutively for each of his first two victims, he would already have faced a mandatory life sentence.

Kemp said White received sex offender treatment and was released on parole after a previous conviction for the 1997 rapes, but was convicted of violating Megan’s Law in another state. He later violated parole for that crime and violated parole again in this case and now has the highest possible prior record score used to calculate sentencing guidelines.

“The defendant’s actions in this case and the defendant’s past history cannot be ignored,” Kemp said. “The defendant demonstrated that when given the opportunity to interact with children, he would sexually abuse them.”

Scanlon said White’s refusal to sign the form was part of a pattern of unsuccessful attempts to disrupt, confuse and intimidate the courts and prosecution through numerous unfounded and frivolous motions filed in Common Pleas and the State Supreme Court, all of which were denied.

Scanlon said White was classed as a repeat offender who deliberately committed these crimes after being given numerous opportunities in the past to rehabilitate himself, and that he had never expressed remorse, sadness, shame or apology.

The judge added that he had never heard a more pathetic or ludicrous defense than the one offered by White regarding the existence of his DNA, finding that he was incapable of rehabilitation or living in a civilized society.

Scanlon said it was the court’s duty in this case to impose a sentence that ensures White “never, ever” has the opportunity to attack another child again.

In addition to the prison sentence, White was ordered to have no contact with minors, including the victim or the juvenile witness in the case. He was given credit for time served since his arrest on October 14, 2021.

White was also charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of an instrument of crime in May 2023 while he was incarcerated at the county jail in Concord. Kemp dropped the charges in that case on Wednesday.