Sensibaugh sentenced for child rape

Blair man gets 67.5 to 135 years in prison for abuse of children

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A 38-year-old Blair County man who sexually assaulted two 5-year old girls in 2021 and videotaped the assaults with his cellphone was sentenced Wednesday to 67.5 to 135 years in prison.

Richard Scott Sensibaugh, who has been in the county prison since his arrest in April 2021, apologized in court and spoke of the shame he feels.

"I truly regret everything I've done," Sensibaugh said. "It was not me and not the person I want to be."

Judge Jackie Bernard imposed the sentence that included consecutive and concurrent incarceration periods for each of Sensibaugh's 56 convictions, including felony counts of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault of a child.

The judge rendered the convictions in June after presiding over a trial-by-judge where the evidence, including cellphone video, was presented for her evaluation.

"The trial process was not easy," Bernard said Wednesday. "I had a front row seat to see the abuse you inflicted on these girls."

First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith asked Bernard for a sentence of more than 200 years by assigning consecutive incarceration periods for distinct offenses and each of the victims.

Smith acknowledged that while a sentence of more than 200 years may sound egregious for the defendant, she said it's also reflective of the scope of abuse inflicted on two 5-year-old girls, as shown on video.

"Let us not flinch away from what those victims had to endure ... and was recorded for everyone to watch," Smith said.

Defense Attorney Lyle Dresbold of Pittsburgh, in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court, said there was no trial evidence that Sensibaugh ever viewed the videos he recorded or used the videos for any other purpose.

Dresbold asked Bernard to hand down a sentence with 10 years incarceration, followed by a lengthy probationary period. The defense attorney said that would permit Sensibaugh to pursue sexual offender treatment and provide him with an incentive to complete it.

"Total incarceration for the rest of his life is certainly not the only option before this court," Dresbold said. "He is somebody who could be rehabilitated."

The grandmother of the five-year-old victim, who addressed Bernard on behalf of the family, spoke of how her family members trusted Sensibaugh when he cared for the child.

Sensibaugh had been in an off-and-on relationship with the child's mother, who on April 2, 2021, at her Claysburg residence, found cellphone video of Sensibaugh sexually assaulting her sleeping 5-year-old daughter. As a result, she contacted the police.

Bernard praised the mother, who was in the courtroom, for taking quick action. The judge said that led to a chain of events halting further abuse of her daughter and a neighbor's child. Upon further examination of the cellphone, police found video of Sensibaugh's sexual interactions with a second 5-year-old girl.

Outside court, the grandmother said she wished the judge would have imposed a longer sentence, but acknowledged that Sensibaugh will be 105 years old before he can get out of jail, based on the minimum sentence.

"I think it will prevent him from raping another child," she said.

After the sentence was imposed, Dresbold asked Bernard to appoint the public defender's office to represent Sensibaugh in an anticipated appeal.

Dresbold said his office isn't handling appeals so he will be withdrawing his representation.

One of the appeal issues might be a pre-trial ruling by Judge Timothy M. Sullivan who examined whether police had the right to review the contents of Sensibaugh's phone, based on the mother's permission. Sullivan concluded that the mother shared ownership with Sensibaugh and deemed the search to be legally valid.

"Judge Sullivan did a detailed and thoughtful decision regarding that issue," Smith said outside court. "It should hold up if that's appealed."

Smith also said she appreciated Bernard's rendering of consecutive sentences to address Sensibaugh's separate "abominable" acts with two 5-year-old girls as well as his videotaping of those acts.

"He wasn't drunk and he wasn't high," Smith said in asking Bernard for a lengthy sentence. "He was preying on these girls as a choice."

Based on his convictions, Bernard advised Sensibaugh that he is now a Tier III sexual offender. That designation requires him to regularly register his address and related information with state police for the rest of his life.

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