CLEARFIELD – A DuBois man will spend up to eight years in state prison for giving a 13-year-old girl alcohol and then having sex with her.
Brandon Ryan Runyon, 20, 323 Hubert St., DuBois, pleaded guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse person less than 16-years of age, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and sell/furnishing liquor to minor in Clearfield County Court.
Judge Paul Cherry sentenced him to serve four to eight years in state prison. He must also complete the Project Point of Light Program. He was fined $1,003 plus costs.
The charges stem from an incident at a residence on West Long Avenue on July 8.
Prior to sentencing Runyon’s attorney, Chris Pentz noted that Runyon admitted he was wrong. He stated Runyon made a “poor decision” but made comparisons with others, including Thomas Jefferson, who had sex with Sally Hemings when she was only 14-years old and he was in his 40’s.
Runyon himself addressed the court and apologized “for what I did.”
According to the affidavit of probable cause, a police officer saw a female juvenile walking with help of Nathan Quick and Abby Bullers along DuBois Street. When he spoke with them, he learned the girl had sexual intercourse with Runyon.
The victim told police that Runyon contacted her on Facebook and invited her to an apartment to drink with him. He told her she would have to lie about her age and tell the others she was 16 years old going on 17 years old.
While at that apartment, Runyon provided her with alcohol which she drank. After some time, they began kissing. This escalated and they had sex in the living room of the apartment. This caused her pain and they stopped. After a while, he talked her into trying again.
When Runyon was interviewed by police he denied she was at the apartment, but eventually he admitted she stayed the night. He denied even touching her but changed his story several times.
He admitted to kissing and cuddling with her but denied sexual contact. He supplied police with a DNA sample that matched samples taken from the victim.
Both Quick and Bullers were also questioned. During the night, while they were in the bedroom they said they heard “sex noises” coming from the living room. Quick left their bedroom and Bullers heard him ask the victim if she was alright. The victim replied that she was hurt. Bullers then exited the bedroom and saw Runyon naked. The victim covered herself with a blanket. Quick told Bullers to go back to the bedroom and she did.
After Quick returned to the bedroom they could hear noises indicating Runyon and the victim were having sex again. Quick said he didn’t think this was right because the girl said she was hurt.
Bullers heard someone in the bathroom and found the victim there. She was crying and cleaning herself up. Bullers took her to the bedroom where she told them that she had sex with Runyon. They decided to take her home, and that was when the officer saw them.
Quick agreed to a search of the apartment for evidence. Officers found blood on a rug, a blanket and a sheet. They also found numerous empty beer cans.
Runyon was questioned again regarding the differences between his story and the story told by Quick, Bullers and the victim. At first he attempted to reconstruct his story to fit the other story without saying he had sex with her, but eventually he confessed to having intercourse with the girl.