A former volunteer coach for the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia has been sentenced to serve four to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to charges involved with the sexual assault of a child that occurred in March of 2022.
On Tuesday, former PAL volunteer coach, 28-year-old Marquis Graham was sentenced to prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of statutory sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor after an incident that happened on March 9, 2022.
He pleaded guilty to the charges in December of last year.
Also, Graham had initially faced more serious rape and sexual assault charges in this case, but those charges were dropped once Graham pleaded guilty to other charges.
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According to court documents, Graham was arrested and charged after a 15-year-old, who regularly attended a PAL center along the 3100 block of Ridge Avenue in the city's Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, reported to police that she had been assaulted by Graham.
The victim told police that Graham offered to give her a ride to work as she was leaving the center that day and, once inside the vehicle, Graham assaulted her, court documents note.
Graham was apprehended several days after the incident while hiding in the basement of a home along the 100 block of West Nevada Street in North Philadelphia.
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After the sentencing, a representative with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office told NBC10 that the victim was pleased with the outcome of the case.
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