CLEARFIELD – A Morrisdale man facing hundreds of sex assault charges was given a lengthy state prison sentence Wednesday.
Edward Leroy McGuire, 74, was originally charged with over 700 various offenses for assaulting a girl from the time she was five-years-old until she was 10-years-old while at his Graham Township home.
He was also charged with assaulting a six-year-old girl in August 2023.
McGuire appeared in court to be sentenced on an open plea agreement and for a Megan’s Law assessment hearing.
After hearing testimony from William Allenbaugh of the sexual offender’s board who gave his opinion that McGuire is a sexually-violent predator, President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman ruled that McGuire be classified as a predator.
District Attorney Ryan Sayers explained that McGuire’s plea agreement in the first case is for only five felony counts because those charges alone would be enough to see that he doesn’t get out of jail for the rest of his life. He asked Ammerman to give him consecutive sentences.
Ammerman sentenced McGuire to serve a total of 17½ to 35 years in state prison with 12 years consecutive probation for five felony counts of attempted rape of a child in one case and misdemeanor indecent assault of a child in the second case.
He must comply with Megan’s Law and register with law enforcement for the rest of his life.
He was also ordered to attend sex offender counseling and to have no unsupervised contact with any female under the age of 18.
Prior to sentencing, several of the victims’ family members spoke about their outrage and disgust of McGuire, whom they had previously trusted.
One of the mothers said he forced the girl “to do things she should never have to do.
“My child was a baby when you used her for your own sexual pleasure.”
She stated that the girl was not a victim, but a survivor, and said after today they would never speak of him again.
“You will cease to exist.”
She asked the judge to give him the maximum sentence so he “can’t ever hurt another child.”
The victim’s grandmother stated that she was “disgusted” with what he did and imagined the girl’s terror every time she went to his home.
“It hurts my heart what you did.” She also stated that he deserved to spend the rest of his life in jail and urged the judge to give him the maximum sentence.
Another family member asked how many other children he might have terrorized over the years.
“You didn’t just wake up at 60-years-old and start doing this.”
She called the two victims who spoke up, “heroes.”
The second victim’s mother agreed that her daughter is a hero for stepping forward and she hopes McGuire never gets out of jail.
Defense attorney Chris Pentz tried to provide comfort to the family by saying McGuire is apologetic about his “many poor decisions.”
“The only thing he can give you is his life,” Pentz said, adding, “I pray you do find closure.”
According to the affidavit in the first case, the victim told investigators that he asked her to have indecent contact with him in the bathroom.
She also stated that he would make her lay on a bed while he touched her inappropriately and assaulted her.
The second case stems from his actions while this victim was visiting at his home.
She told investigators that McGuire came into the bathroom where she was washing her hands and asked her to have indecent contact with him, which she did, according to the criminal complaint.