HOLLIDAYSBURG — A former music teacher pleaded guilty Friday to 10 child sexual assault offenses, in exchange for a sentence of one to two years in jail, followed by 20 years’ probation.

Richard Peter Kuiawa, 80, Altoona, who was slated to go on trial next week in Blair County Court, submitted pleas to three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child less than 16, four counts of indecent assault of a child less than 16 and one count each of aggravated indecent assault of a child less than 16, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a child.

Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who accepted the pleas, agreed that Kuiawa could delay entry to the county prison for 30 days to address a medical issue.

Assistant District Attorney Derek Elensky, who was preparing to take the case to trial, said Friday that the victim was supportive of the negotiated plea.

“We had a strong case, but what was most important to the victim was that Mr. Kuiawa took responsibility for what he did,” Elensky said. “The victim wanted Mr. Kuiawa to plead guilty to every count and he wanted the sentence to include some incarceration.”

The victim, now 28, is an Altoona native who was 14 years old on March 7, 2007, when he stopped at Kuiawa’s residence and asked to shovel snow.

At that time, Kuiawa was 67. He had served as Bishop Guilfoyle High School’s choral director between 1982 and 1986.

The youth told police that after meeting Kuiawa that day, he began doing more chores in exchange for voice and piano lessons. Kuiawa later gave gifts to the youth and took him on trips in preparation for what turned into sexual assaults at Kuiawa’s residence, police said.

District Attorney Pete Weeks, in a statement issued after Kuiawa’s guilty pleas, referred to this case as another example of how child predators can lurk in plain sight.

“This case is yet another example of how child predators do not appear to be what they are,” Weeks said. “Recent nationally followed cases highlight how celebrities who were once believed to be above reproach used their positions of power to prey upon children without detection, as Mr. Kuiawa did in this case.”

In a criminal complaint to support the charges filed in March 2019 against Kuiawa, Altoona Detective Sgt. Terry Merritts acknowledged that the victim was 26 when he revealed his allegations to police in 2018.

Elensky described the victim’s recollections as very detailed.

The criminal complaint also mentioned that the victim, upon graduating from high school, left Altoona and joined the military. It was during his time in the service when he “learned how drastically different his teenage years with Kuiawa were as compared to that of his peers,” Merritts wrote in the charges.

While the charges were pending in Blair County Court, Kuiawa and defense attorney Phil Roberston filed motions challenging the victim’s allegations. In court Thursday, Robertson told Kagarise that he would be calling several character witnesses in Kuiawa’s defense. The Mirror was unable Friday to reach Robertson for comment.

By pleading guilty, Kuiawa becomes a Megan’s Law offender who will be required to regularly register his address and related information with state police for the rest of his life.

Elensky said the negotiated plea agreement also forbids Kuiawa from having unsupervised contact with children. In addition, he must enroll in a Project Point of Light program for assessment and treatment of sexual offenders, Elensky said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.