More Jail Time for Vignola, Jr.

Judge increases sentence in Philly escort assault

A judge has increased the prison sentence for a former city councilman's son convicted of slashing the throat of an escort in a hotel in 2008 and leaving her for dead.

Common Pleas Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes increased the sentence for 21-year-old Joseph Vignola Jr. from the original maximum of four years to nine to 26 years. Prosecutors sought more time, saying the defendant had claimed to have been hazed at a military academy, but there was no evidence of that.

The Inquirer says the judge told Vignola Jr. that he had lied to her and “played the court.”

Vignola Jr. pleaded guilty in September to aggravated assault in the May 2008 attack. He is the son of former city councilman and controller Joseph Vignola.


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