CLEARFIELD – A Houtzdale man was given a lengthy state prison sentence Monday for sexually assaulting two different young girls.
Randy Lee Pinto, 36, sexually assaulted the girls at a residence in Olanta and another in Houtzdale beginning in May 2013.
Following a short hearing with testimony from an expert who concluded that Pinto is a sexually violent predator, Senior Judge John Cherry ruled that Pinto be classified as a SVP.
Pinto was then sentenced to 22½ to 50 years in state prison with a period of consecutive re-entry probation for ten felony counts each of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and sexual assault.
He must register with authorities under Megan’s Law and complete sex offender counseling. Pinto is prohibited from having contact with the victims and must have no unsupervised contact with any female under the age of 18.
Originally, he was charged with 3,500 offenses.
One of the victims addressed the court prior to sentencing, saying she hopes he “rots in hell”.She went on to say that she is a survivor and for those who think he didn’t abuse her, she clarified, “he did.”
“I feel bad people thought you were a good person.”
She stated that he first assaulted her when she was five and she was well trained “to keep my mouth shut”.
Pinto ruined her childhood and put her through hell, shattering her confidence and self-esteem, she explained.
“This will be the last time you see me,” she finished.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the girls reported that they were being assaulted beginning at the age of five.
During their interview at Clearfield County’s Child Advocacy Center, both girls gave independent detailed accounts of being raped and other sexual abuse by Pinto.
A male juvenile who was a witness was also questioned and confirmed their story that Pinto was molesting the girls. He reported that he was also assaulted after Pinto pushed the boy down and tried to choke him.
The girls said Pinto would give them money or toys and told them not to tell what had happened.
His wife, Katie Ann Pinto, 39, is also charged in this case with two counts of endangering the welfare of children because she allegedly was aware of the abuse. She has signed a plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
In her affidavit, it says Katie knew of her husband’s actions with the girls for years but never reported it to authorities. She told officials she was “very afraid of Randy” which is why she never told anyone about the abuse, according to Randy Pinto’s criminal complaint.
