CLEARFIELD – A 19-year-old Reynoldsville man accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl pleaded guilty recently in Clearfield County Court.
Andrew Ray Deible, 325 Ann St., Reynoldsville pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and indecent assault. He was sentenced to 11 months to two years less one day in jail and two years consecutive probation.
He had originally been charged with 15 counts of rape of a child, 15 counts of statutory sexual assault, 30 counts of aggravated indecent assault and 30 counts of indecent assault. He was fined $200 plus costs. He was also ordered to complete the Project Point of Light program.
The charges stem from incidents occurring over a two-year period.
District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr. explained that the family did not want to take the case to trial because they wanted to avoid having the victim testify. He also stated that Deible had undergone a sexual predator assessment, which revealed he was not a sexually violent predator. However, he will still have to register his address with law enforcement.
Attorney Blair Hindman, who was representing Deible, acknowledged that Deible was going to be paying for this for the rest of his life, as the felony charges will stay on his record. Prior to this, Deible had no criminal record.
Judge Fredric J. Ammerman asked the family if they wanted to say anything in court about the crime, but they declined. Deible apologized for his actions.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, an investigation began in January of 2013 after a witness walked into Deible’s bedroom and saw the victim lying partially nude on his bed. Deible, naked, had jumped behind the door to hide. He told the witness to get out. Then Deible stepped out of the room and said “let me explain.” The witness told him he didn’t want to hear it.
This witness told police he then spoke to the victim who was crying. She asked him to go away and begged him not to tell her parents. Deible came into the room and asked the witness what it would take for him not to tell anybody.
The witness told the mother the next day. She then questioned Deible. He admitted to her in a phone conversation that he had intercourse with the girl. When she asked him what this was called, he replied “molesting.” She told him it was rape. He then hung up on her.
When the victim was questioned by police, she said Deible had touched her inappropriately more than 100 times, starting when she was in third grade. She showed them what he had done to her by using a doll. She explained it would happen at night when everyone was sleeping.
In an interview with police, Deible claimed things were “blown out of proportion” and they were just talking in the bedroom. When told what the girl had said he had done, he hung his head and said “she has no reason to lie. But my intentions were never to hurt her.” When asked about specific details, he said he was not comfortable answering any other questions without a lawyer.