John Gray (Courtesy of Montgomery County District Attorney)
A 22-year-old man with addresses in Telford and Towamencin has been charged with four break-ins and assaults on women who were alone in their homes, including the sexual assault of a woman in her 90s.
John Vernon Gray, who listed addresses on South Main Street in Telford and Stockton Court in the Morgandale Condominium Community in Towamencin, is charged with multiple counts of burglary and attempted burglary, rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. Two of the incidents occurred on May 10 of last year and two occurred on Nov. 8, all between 2:20 and 3:30 a.m., according to police.
The charges were announced Thursday by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Towamencin Police Chief Timothy Troxel.
The investigation by Towamencin Township Police and Montgomery County Detectives involved four nighttime burglaries in homes of women, ranging in age from 46 to 95, who lived alone or were presumed by the defendant to live alone.
The first one occurred on May 10, 2025, at approximately 2:25 a.m., when a 79-year-old woman awoke to a man coming into her house on Dock Drive through her bedroom window, police said. She saw the window opening and an arm reaching into her window, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman reported that she yelled “what are you doing” at which point the suspect fled toward Detweiler Road. Approximately an hour later, a second burglary occurred nearby when a male entered the home in the Dock Woods community and sexually assaulted the homeowner, a woman in her 90s, according to police. That victim said she woke to see a man standing in her bedroom, and he sexually assaulted her in her bed, court records state.
That same morning, about 4:30 a.m., police were called to Stockton Court for reports of a man with a gun to his head. The man, later identified as Gray, was taken for a psychological evaluation, according to court records.
On Nov. 8, two additional burglaries were reported. Police responded at approximately 3 a.m. to a residence on Dock Drive, where a 72-year-old woman reported being awakened by a man in her bedroom. He attempted to lift her nightgown but fled when the woman screamed, court records state. Thirty minutes later, at approximately 3:30 a.m., a male intruder entered a residence on Crosshill Court in Towamencin Township through a rear sliding glass door, entered the bedroom, and began touching a 46-year-old woman. He fled when she screamed for her husband, police said.
In the fourth incident, at approximately 3:41 AM, Towamencin police responded to a residence on Crosshill Court where a 46-year-old female stated that a male entered her residence and went into the bedroom, and began touching her hip, court records state. She was startled and called for her husband, who was outside on the patio. The male offender promptly exited the residence and fled in an unknown direction, police said.
Following a further investigation that involved cellphone, DNA, and surveillance video evidence, Gray was identified as a suspect and arrested on Jan. 10 and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Todd Stephens, who denied bail due to the threat to the public and nature of the charges.
Gray was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. On Jan. 15, a bail hearing was held before Court of Common Pleas Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who upheld the denial of bail for Gray. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m., Feb. 2, before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine.
An investigation is continuing. If anyone thinks they might have been a victim of this defendant, contact Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3385.
