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A Warren man has been convicted at trial of indecent assault of a person with a mental disability.
David W. Dickson, 79, of Youngsville was charged with indecent assault of a person with a mental disability and indecent assault without consent of other in October 2025 by the State Police at Warren after an alleged incident on Aug. 28, 2025, in Pleasant Township. Dickson was found guilty on both counts following a jury trial Sept. 29 in front of President Judge Gregory Hammond in the Court of Common Pleas.
A person commits indecent assault if they have non-consensual indecent contact with a complainant who suffers from a mental disability that renders them incapable of consent. Indecent assault of a person with a mental disability is graded as a misdemeanor, but carries a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison as well as registration with the Pennsylvania State Police for 25 years under the state's Megan's Law statutes. A conviction of indecent assault without consent of other carries a maximum penalty of up to 2 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 29 by Judge Hammond once an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board has been completed. The state agency evaluates individuals convicted of certain sexual offenses to determine if they meet the criteria for classification as a sexually violent predator. The board has 90 days to complete its assessment.
Dickson faces another charge of indecent assault without consent of other filed March 10 by the State Police at Warren after an alleged incident on Aug. 28, 2025, in Pleasant Township.
Dickson was sentenced to four years of probation in January 2020 after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors that did not carry a requirement to register as a sexual offender. In exchange for the plea, charges including two counts of felony corruption of minors and two counts of indecent assault were not prosecuted.
Two females, ages 15 and 16, told their mother that Dickson inappropriately touched them on several occasions between May 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019 at his residence on Brown Hill Road, according to the police report, which also indicates that the mother immediately contacted Forest-Warren Children and Youth Services.
State police interviewed Dickson, who confirmed the information provided by the teens, according to the police report.