Published: September 04, 2008 11:27 pm      

Pleas curtail trial in sex-abuse case

EBENSBURG — Jury selection in a child sex-abuse case was interrupted Thursday morning when the defendant decided to plead guilty instead of going ahead with his trial.

Judge Gerard Long sent the 30-member panel of potential jurors out of the courtroom while Byron C. Maxwell of Johnstown entered guilty pleas to six felony charges – four of rape of a child and two of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Maxwell, 34, of the 100 block of Gautier Street, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4. He could face anywhere from 10 to 120 years in state prison, Long said.

Prior to sentencing, a state evaluator will make a recommendation to the judge on whether Maxwell is a sexually violent predator likely to become a repeat offender. The evaluation is required by the state’s Megan’s law.

Johnstown police charged that Maxwell sexually abused a girl starting in September 2006, when she was 10 years old, until April 2007, when he was arrested.

Assistant District Attorney Tamara Bernstein said that there was medical evidence of the sex abuse and that the defendant had admitted his guilt to city police Officer Julie Wagner.

“He pleaded to the most serious felonies, each with a 10-year mandatory sentence,” Bernstein said after the court session. “It will be up to the judge to decide whether those sentences run concurrently. The family feels very strongly that they’d like to see a sentence commensurate with the plea.”

Defense attorney John Kasaback said, “Mr. Maxwell didn’t want to put her (the girl) through the trial. He indicated to me that he knew I’d be hard on her (in cross-examination), and he didn’t want to put her through that. I think that shows he must really love her to accept the plea.”

The girl, who was in the courtroom, was accompanied by two relatives. She appeared to wipe tears from her eyes several times.

The abuse was “extremely traumatic and devastated her whole life,” Wagner said. “Her life has changed because of it.”

The officer added, “She’s a strong, brave little girl, and I have nothing but admiration for her.”