Sentencing Due for Sexual Attack, Robbery of 89-Year-Old Woman

The Vineland man convicted last March for the brutal sexual attack and robbery of an 89-year-old Somers Point woman in August 2010 is scheduled to hear his sentence tomorrow in Atlantic County Superior Court.

Marvin Sherwood was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and armed robbery, both first-degree crimes, after several hours of jury deliberation that followed a nine-day trial.

He was also convicted of lesser counts of burgarly, weapons possession, evidence tampering and terroristic threats for allegedly threatening to kill the elderly woman if she called police.

The probe began when authorities were notified of the attack by a caller who routinely checked on the woman's well-being. The victim was hospitalized briefly, and released the same day.

Investigators who found some stolen items in a trash can arrived at the conclusion that Sherwood tossed them there.

Sherwood testified that the assault was carried out by an accomplice who later died. Prosecutors convinced the jury that it was a fabrication based on the victim's account of only one attacker in the house.

He risks up to 20 years for each of the two first-degree charges, plus fines as high as $200,000.