Derry man awaiting sentencing for attacks against 2 women named suspect in Florida sexual assault
A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of a Derry Township man who had been free on bail while awaiting sentencing for the sexual assaults of two women.
Westmoreland County prosecutors said in court documents Khachek Hamerski is being investigated in Florida in an alleged sexual assault that occurred there between Dec. 31 and Jan. 7.
Hamerski, 29, pleaded guilty in October to charges of aggravated assault and strangulation of a Ligonier woman and indecent assault and strangulation of a Penn Township woman in 2018. He is scheduled to appear Tuesday before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio for a sentencing hearing.
Terms of last fall’s plea deal called for Hamerski to receive a 2- to 5-year prison sentence and to serve five additional years on probation.
Bilik-DeFazio on Friday ordered that Hamerski be jailed after prosecutors disclosed the ongoing police investigation in Florida.
According to court documents, Westmoreland County prosecutors said police in Delray Beach, Fla., identified Hamerski as a suspect in an alleged sexual assault this month.
“I can’t really comment on it,” said defense attorney Mike Ferguson, noting he believed Hamerski was back in the area and, as of Friday, was not on the run. “We plan to be present for the sentencing on Tuesday.”
Hamerski was allowed to remain free on $25,000 bail after his guilty plea last fall.
The cases for which he pleaded guilty include allegations made by a Penn Township woman who said, in June 2018, Hamerski — a friend she had known for about five years — came to her home after he requested they talk about his desire to be a father. She told police Hamerski attempted to initiate sex, ordered her young son to his room, followed her upstairs and forced himself upon her.
A second woman from Ligonier also said she had known Hamerski for years and, in September 2018, met him at a local bar then invited him to her home, where he forced her to have sex.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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