CLEARFIELD – On Friday, a Curwensville man was given a lengthy state prison sentence for raping a woman who was asleep in a neighbor’s home.
After a two-day trial in September, Douglas Carl Albert, 54, was found guilty of rape-forcible compulsion, two counts of sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse-forcible compulsion, and aggravated indecent assault without consent, all felonies, in addition to misdemeanor indecent assault-person unconscious and indecent assault without consent.
He was acquitted of rape-unconscious victim and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse-person unconscious, both felonies.
He was back in court on Friday to be sentenced by Judge Paul E. Cherry.
The victim’s mother addressed the judge explaining the impact of the crime on her daughter.
She described the victim as a “free spirit” who always had a smile that could light up a room. The night of the assault, she called her mother, crying so hard she could not understand her.
Then she said, “I was raped,” the mother stated. She had just turned 18-years-old. She asked her mother to stay on the phone with her as she went to the hospital where a rape kit was done before going home.
The hours waiting for her to return were the “longest hours of my life.”
When she got home, the victim asked her “why did this happen to me?” The mother said she just held her daughter and told her it was not her fault.
She was changed after the assault and became a girl with a “blank stare.”
“I thought she was going to give up on life and I was never going to see that free spirit again,” the mother said.
Luckily, the victim realized she needed help and went to a therapist to deal with the trauma. “Now she can smile again.”
Referring to the crime, she stated hef daughter “was sleeping in a place she felt safe in. He took what was left of her innocence. How could you do that to someone?”
The mother called her “brave” for testifying at the trial and stated she was proud of her.
She asked Cherry to give Albert the maximum sentence.
Albert’s attorney, Jendi Schwab, supplied the judge with 14 letters in defense of Albert from family members, friends and even other inmates who served time with him at the county jail. These described him as being a helpful, caring individual.
Albert’s daughter also addressed the court, praising Albert for his role in her life. As she spoke, she cried, and Albert began crying too.
Schwab argued that some of the charges should merge for sentencing while District Attorney Ryan Sayers disagreed with her saying the charges represent different acts performed on the girl.
Cherry noted that he read the letters, skimming the longer ones, but said he couldn’t do what most of the people wanted, which was for Albert to return home.
He said he was considering their words, but this “is a very bad, serious case” and he also had to take into account the impact on the victim.
He then sentenced Albert to a total of 15 ½ years to 31 years in state prison with 11 years additional probation. Albert must complete sex offender counseling.
Even though an evaluation determined he was not a sexually-violent predator, he must still register with authorities under Megan’s Law.
After court, Sayers said the victim deserves a lot of respect for coming forward to report the crime.
“As a result of her actions, a predator is now in jail.”
He thanked state police, specifically Trooper Matthew Peacock for his work on the case and former Deputy District Attorney Trudy Lumadue “for working so hard to get this conviction.”
The charges stem from an incident on March 31, 2021, in Curwensville.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim reported that she and a friend rode around for a while that evening, as she drank four Arnold Palmers.
When she got back to another friend’s apartment where she was staying, at about 11 p.m., she went to sleep in a bedroom.
She was awakened by Albert touching her below the waist. He then raped her, she told authorities.
The victim said she didn’t move or say anything because she was afraid, he would “beat her up.” She explained that she “just froze” while he was assaulting her.
When he was done, he just left the residence. She then went to another neighbor and told him what happened. He urged her to call police, which she did.
She noted that when she went into the bedroom the apartment door was locked, but said Albert had a key because he lets her friend’s dog out.
A sexual assault kit was used to collect physical evidence and investigators took a DNA swab from Albert, which matched the samples taken from the victim, according to the report.