CLEARFIELD – A Houtzdale man will be spending time in state prison for groping a woman at a party.
Police say Gregory Shawn Kay Jr., 46, put his hand between the legs of a woman while she was bent over at a Houtzdale residence on Aug. 17, 2023. He was immediately told to leave the party but he refused.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, when he did eventually leave, he stated that he was going to follow the woman home and molest her.
During colloquy court on Monday, Kay pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of indecent assault, terroristic threats and harassment.
His attorney, Ryan Dobo, stated that Kay has already served more than the minimum sentence in the county jail, and asked for him to receive a county jail sentence.
Kay addressed the court saying he has “learned” his lesson and was ready to get out and go back to work.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman sentenced him to serve six months to two years in state prison with one year concurrent probation. He was ordered to complete sex offender counseling and submit to DNA testing.
Ammerman added that he was giving Kay a state prison sentence because he has previously served time in state prison.
It was noted that even though Kay was not classified as a sexually-violent predator after an evaluation, he will still have to register with authorities under Megan’s Law due to the nature of the charges.
The original plea for a 90-day sentence in this case was previously rejected by Ammerman.
The criminal complaint states that the victim told investigators that she was bent over a chair talking to someone when she felt his hand between her legs. He swiped his hand back, first grabbing her private area and then grabbing her buttocks through her pants, she said.
The trooper wrote in his report that the victim was visibly shaken and upset about the incident.
When he spoke to police about the assault, Kay claimed he didn’t do it. As he was being transported to the county jail on a warrant from another case, he said he was going to “blow their brains out” after he heard what the victim and witnesses had stated.
