Manahawkin Man Gets Life for Sex Assault, Murder of 2-Year-Old

On Thursday, justice for the sexual assault and murder of a 23-month-old baby finally caught up with Michael Disporto Jr.

The Manahawkin man was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said.

Manahawkin Man Gets Life Term for Murder, Aggravated Sexual Assault

In a 2023 jury trial, Michael Disporto, 30, was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault in the death of a child known as A.S.

On Thursday, the court sentenced Disporto to life in prison without parole.

He also received a consecutive term of 40 years with no early release on the charge of sexual assault.

The Crime Happened in 2016

On July 3, 2016, the Gloucester City Police Department responded to Amber Bobo's home to a report of an unresponsive child.

23-month-old  A.S. was transported to Cooper University Hospital where she was found to have suffered extensive injuries as well as signs of being sexually abused.

The child died two days later. Her death was ruled a homicide, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

 Bobo said she had noticed bruises on her daughter's forehead and suggested taking her to the hospital. Still, she waited seven hours because Disporto waved her off, investigators said at the time of the investigation.

The couple had been dating for two weeks.

Bobo pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2017.

Why Did Justice Take So Long for Disporto?

Disporto was first tried for the murder and sexual assault in 2019, but the judge declared a mistrial.

In the first trial, jurors couldn’t agree on any of the charges, including murder and sexual assault, following a week of deliberations and six weeks of evidence in the case.