Published: July 11, 2009 12:19 am      

Man admits assault on girl

EBENSBURG — A 69-year-old Jackson Township man admitted Friday in Cambria County Court that he sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl more than a year ago at his home.

Robert David Schwenning of the 300 block of Brazil Lane pleaded guilty to a felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Under a plea bargain, prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of eight to 20 years for Schwenning, although Judge David Tulowitzki noted he is not bound by that recommendation.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 5, but that could be delayed pending a report from the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board. The report is to determine whether Schwenning meets the legal definition of a sexually violent predator who is likely to commit the same offenses again.

The victim’s parents agreed to the plea bargain in order to save the girl from the trauma of testifying in court, Assistant District Attorney Eric Hochfield said.

Still pending against Schwenning is an unrelated case in which he is accused of molesting a girl about 27 years ago.

But prosecutors reportedly are reviewing whether those charges will have to be dropped because of the statute of limitations.

Hochfield said only that the pending case is expected “to be resolved.”

The woman in the old case had testified at a September preliminary hearing that he had molested her at least five times between December 1981 and December 1985, beginning when she was 4. Jackson Township police said she had come forward after learning that Schwenning had been charged with molesting the 8-year-old.

In the most recent case, Hochfield said the defendant assaulted the girl on April 19, 2008. He pulled off her clothing before the sexual assault, the prosecutor said.

The girl told a relative about the incident, and the relative called police.

A jury had been selected to hear the case, and testimony was to begin Monday morning.

Public Defender Patricia Moore, who represents the defendant, said, “We were ready to go to trial. This (plea) was something that Mr. Schwenning wanted to do. He wanted to get it over and done with. He decided to enter the plea.”

Schwenning was returned by sheriff’s deputies to the county jail, where he has been held in lieu of $200,000 bail since his arrest last year.