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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Tyrone man has been sentenced to two to four years' incarceration, followed by three years' probation, for 17 child sexual offenses involving a 9-year-old boy.
Colby James Wagner, 26, offered no comment in Blair County Court where Judge Timothy M. Sullivan handed down the negotiated sentence based on Wagner's guilty pleas entered in March 2022, about four months after he was arrested in November 2021.
Tyrone police, who filed the charges, accused Wagner of sexually touching the boy and watching pornography with him.
Wagner, who has been in the county prison since his arrest, wasn't sentenced until Tuesday, partly because of challenges developing to the portion of his sentence requiring him to follow sex offender registration requirements for the rest of his life.
Based on current requirements set forth in the state's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, Wagner must regularly register his address and related information with state police.
That could change, however, based on the outcome of legal challenges to SORNA that a Chester County judge deemed to be unconstitutional in an August 2022 ruling.
Sullivan, on May 12, is convening a court hearing for legal arguments on behalf of Blair County defendants raising challenges to SORNA's constitutionality. That will include Wagner, based on a post-sentence motion that defense attorney Tyler Rowles plans to file.
District Attorney Pete Weeks told Sullivan that Wagner's negotiated sentence falls within the standard range of the state's sentencing guidelines. He also pointed out that Wagner's release from incarceration will rest with the state parole and probation board.
The child's mother, in a statement Weeks read in court, told the judge that the sentence fails to adequately address what happened to her son.
"Think of all the turmoil you caused," she wrote to Wagner in the statement.
Sullivan told the mother that based on Weeks' recommendation, he structured Wagner's sentence so that upon being released from prison, any parole or probation violation could subject Wagner to being resentenced on each of the 17 offenses.
The judge added that Wagner should view that structure as an incentive to avoid violations.
Wagner's sentence also requires him to submit to a mental health evaluation and follow through with treatment recommended by the state Department of Corrections.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.