Child rapist gets 12 to 25 years

Sept. 18, 2007

Adapted from the Bloomsburg Press Enterprise

A twice-convicted child molester was sentenced to 12 to 25 years in state prison for raping an 8-year-old boy he was baby-sitting.

The 38-year-old man sobbed and pleaded with a judge to spare him a lengthy prison term, at one point blubbering, "I don't want to die in jail, your honor." The longtime volunteer fire policeman said he was getting counseling for his impulsive sexual urges and is "really sorry for hurting everybody that knew me."

The judge did not show the mercy he was seeking.

"You're pathetic. Deal with it in jail," the judge told him.

The man admitted having oral sex with the boy in his bedroom twice and touching the boy's genitals. He would also masturbate after smelling the boy's sneakers, he told a licensed psychologist when evaluated as a sexual offender of young children. The recent incidents began sometime in 2003, authorities said.

Already convicted of molestation in 1995 and registered as a lifetime Megan's Law offender, he expressed concern for his own health and his wife.

"I know I did wrong .... It was stupid," he told the court.

"(Sir), what you did was way beyond stupid," the judge told him.

"It was damaging, evil, cruel and inexcusable. Particularly in light of the fact you were convicted of this some time ago," the judge said, referring to the man’s prior conviction and jail time for molesting a boy in 1995.

A friend of the recent victim's family told the court the boy has "changed drastically" and would be affected the rest of his life by the "horrific acts" of the defendant.

The district attorney said the young victim, whose family was friends with the accused and his wife, began to exhibit sexual behavior on his own when he disclosed to authorities what the defendant had done to him.

The judge also imposed a $1,000 fine and ordered him to begin his sentence immediately.

The man recently issued a public apology and disclosed he had been sexually abused as a boy. He spoke about his past in a newspaper story relating complaints of having his van and home egged on several consecutive nights last month.

He became known as a frequent volunteer at local fire scenes. He helped direct traffic and often videotaped fires and accidents for the fire department. He was asked to leave prior to his arrest on child rape charges last fall.

It was at least the fifth admitted instance of pedophilia in the man’s past, only one for which he had been previously prosecuted.

The man denied molesting boys in some of those early episodes, but admitted he did get sexually aroused by smelling the shoes of two young boys and touching one of them where charges were either dropped or never pursued, according to his account.

Both he and his wife blamed "a mental condition" for his behavior, for which he had sought counseling and which he claimed was not "an ongoing thing."

"I don't ever want to see another child get hurt. I understand now," he said.

"Way too late," the judge told him.

"We have to take you off the street for quite a while," said the judge before imposing a sentence that calls for the man to remain incarcerated until at least the age of 50.