An East Petersburg man serving up to 27 years in prison for beating and sexually assaulting a woman will not receive a new trial.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled that William K. Lawrence’s challenges to his 2017 trial conviction are without merit.

Lawrence, 37, was sentenced to 10½ to 27 years for binding the woman and beating and sexually assaulting her in August 2016 at her Manheim Township home.

Among Lawrence’s arguments in a request for a new trial, he claimed the woman’s statements to a neighbor – as she ran away from Lawrence – should not have been heard by jurors.

The victim told the neighbor that Lawrence tried to kill her and raped her.

Lawrence also argued that his conviction went against the evidence. The state court rejected that, pointing out that trial evidence showed Lawrence tried to persuade the victim from going through with the court case.

In fact, Lawrence successfully kept the victim from testifying at trial. Assistant District Attorney Susan Ellison, who won the conviction, presented the victim’s prior statements to police in place of her taking the witness stand.

Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth ordered the sentence, while noting Lawrence’s lack of remorse.

Manheim Township police Detective Christopher Dissinger was lead investigator and filed charges.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright