Child Sex Abuse Lands Coatesville Man Behind Bars

WEST CHESTER, PA —A 37-year-old Coatesville man was sentenced in the Chester County Justice Center to 22 ½-45 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old victim and exposing himself to the 9-year-old and an 11-year-old.

Justin Griest pleaded guilty before Judge Analisa Sondergaardto involuntary deviate sexual assault of a child and other related offenses.

The judge also deemed Griest as a sexually violent predator under Megan’s law, which requires sex offenders to register their whereabouts on a state police registry and undergo treatment.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said Griest violated his role as a trusted caretaker and engaged in horrific abuse of innocent and defenseless children.

In March of 2021, South Coatesville police were notified by the state’s Childline that an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old had been sexually abused by the defendant in the spring of 2019.

Police said Griest was living in the same household as the children in Modena Borough when he exposed himself to the victims while their mother was away.

In September 2021, one of the victims told police that Geist forced her to engage in sexual acts between May and July 2019.

The district attorney’s office asks that anyone who suspects a child is being abused to contact Childline at 1-800-932-0313.