HOLLIDAYSBURG — A former Penn State Altoona student is appealing to the state Superior Court after being sentenced to a minimum of 23.5 years’ incarceration.

Jeffrey Guo, 26, a Philadelphia area resident currently incarcerated at a State Correctional Institution in Fayette County, is asking the appellate court to review Judge Wade A. Kagarise’s refusal to modify his sentence and the judge’s refusal to allow him to withdraw his guilty pleas.

Guo entered guilty pleas to charges accusing him, in 2018 and 2019, of sexually assaulting four underage girls, of setting up a prostitution business at an Altoona motel and of trafficking drugs.

Guo is also asking the state court to review Kagarise’s decision in November to move forward with a hearing where Kagarise found Guo to be a sexually violent predator, requiring him to observe a lifetime of registration rules.

In an opinion filed Monday in the Blair County Prothonotary’s Office, Kagarise deemed Guo’s appeal issues to be without merit.

The judge’s conclusions, in line with his May 4 ruling addressing Guo’s post-sentence motions, are expected to be forwarded to the Superior Court.

Defense attorney Kelvin Morris of Pittsburgh, who filed Guo’s post-sentence motions, accused Kagarise of abusing his discretion when handing down Guo’s sentence of 23.5 to 60 years’ incarceration on Nov. 30.

Kagarise disagreed in his May 4 ruling where he named factors considered when imposing Guo’s sentence that the judge said fell within the standard range of the state’s sentencing guidelines.

“The court noted the defendant’s ties to his family and his family support, his insignificant prior criminal history and his youth,” Kagarise wrote in the May 4 ruling. “However, this court acknowledged the public safety issues involved in this matter and the effect the crimes had on the victims and the community.”

When Guo stood for sentencing on Nov. 30, District Attorney Pete Weeks and First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith recommended a minimum sentence of 60.5 years’ incarceration. That drew an objection from Guo’s defense attorney at that time, Thomas M. Dickey, who told Kagarise the recommendation equates to a life sentence for his client.

The prosecutors countered that their recommendation was based on the lengthy list of offenses to which Guo rendered guilty pleas. That included four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of unlawful contact with a minor, three counts of statutory sexual assault, three counts of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy, criminal solicitation of prostitution and procuring patrons for a house of prostitution.

Guo’s post-sentence motions included a request that he be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas, rendered Feb. 17, 2022, based on his position that the guilty pleas weren’t offered knowingly and voluntarily.

Kagarise turned down that request in his May 4 ruling and said he was presented with nothing to support it.

Kagarise also declined to revisit his Nov. 30 determination that Guo met the definition of a sexually violent predator. Kagarise reached that ruling after hearing psychologist William Allenbaugh testify about Guo’s behavior and a likelihood of reoffending.

In late April, Morris filed a document with the court challenging state law allowing such determinations and maintained that they violate his client’s constitutional rights.

Kagarise, in his May 4 ruling, declined to address the constitutional challenges raised on Guo’s behalf. But he acknowledged that challenges to the state’s Sexual Offenders Registration and Notification Act are pending with the state’s appellate courts.

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