Former HGTV Host Christopher Dionne Sentenced to Prison After Sexually Assaulting a Child
One-time HGTV host Christopher Dionne is moving into the big house. Dionne, who starred on HGTV's pilot episode of Family Flip with his twin brother, was sentenced to three years in prison for molesting a 10-year-old girl in his Connecticut home, reports People.
Dionne also has to register as a sex offender, according to the Day of New London. Under a criminal protective order, Dionne is prohibited from contacting the victim for the rest of his life.
The case, which has been going on since early 2018, arose from an incident in November 2017, when Dionne touched the victim inappropriately two times during a sleepover birthday party for his own 10-year-old daughter.
The victim alleged that Dionne touched her buttocks and chest, and took a photo of her, then asked her if she wanted to see his genitals, reports People. He also told the victim "If you tell your mom, I’ll go to jail and (my daughter) won’t have a daddy."
While the victim, now 12 years old, was not present at the hearing, her mother was and touched on how her daughter had become "subject to public humiliation and the target of hate messages on social media" after the family had gone to the police.
Dionne is currently incarcerated at Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center, but is maintaining his innocence. His attorney told People in a statement "Juries err from time to time and did so in this case. We've been retained to take Mr. Dionne’s appeal and to pursue a new trial. We remain hopeful that we can correct a manifest injustice. Mr. Dionne is, in fact, 'not guilty.'"
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