Man gets 20 to 40 years for sex abuse

Brandt pleads guilty after facing hundreds of charges in assault of two young females

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- An Altoona man who has spent more than two years fighting child sexual abuse charges has pleaded guilty in Blair County Court for a sentence with 20 to 40 years' incarceration.

Jason M. Brandt, 44, an inmate at the county prison, presented the pleas on Monday instead of proceeding with a jury trial that was scheduled to last through the end of the week.

Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who said he usually doesn't accept negotiated plea agreements on the day of a trial, said Monday that he would make an exception in light of having excused two of the 14 selected jurors.

With only 12 jurors available for the five-day trial, Kagarise said in court that he would accept a negotiated plea agreement and impose the recommended sentence, as presented by Assistant District Attorney Derek Elensky and defense attorney Mark Zearfaus.

Elensky said the negotiated plea would spare the two female victims, now teenagers, from having to testify in court about the sexual abuse they endured.

Charges indicate that Brandt began engaging in sexual activities with the girls when they were 8 and 9 years old, starting in 2012 with one and in 2014 with the second, leading to sexual assaults.

"This was a continuing course of conduct," Elensky said.

While the victims were at the courthouse on Monday when Brandt's trial was supposed to start, Elensky told Kagarise that they were not interested in coming into the courtroom for Brandt's plea and sentencing.

Zearfaus, who worked with Brandt on completing a questionnaire about his guilty pleas, advised Kagarise that his client was acknowledging guilt for multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by threat or force, rape by force, statutory sexual assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. Zearfaus said his client's plea also acknowledged actions with both victims and various times.

When Kagarise asked Brandt if he desired to plead guilty, Brandt answered: "I do, sir."

Altoona police started investigating Brandt after being dispatched to the Altoona Area High School on May 25, 2021, to speak with one of the victims, then a 16-year-old student. She told police how she was scared of Brandt, who had been sexually assaulting her at a residence on the 2500 block of Fourth Avenue and in wooded locations near Tuckahoe Park and Mansion Park.

Police subsequently identified a second victim who made similar allegations, prompting Brandt to be accused of hundreds of sex offenses.

Court records show Brandt has been in the county prison since May 27, 2021, when he turned himself in with the help of his family members who transported him from Huntingdon County to the Altoona Police Department.

During the investigation, Altoona police also arrested Brandt's wife, Michelle Lynn Brandt, and charged her with felony counts of obstruction and knowledge or intent to obstruct a child abuse investigation.

As police were trying to investigate, Michelle Brandt defied orders to avoid discussing the charges against Brandt with the victims. Police also accused Michelle Brandt of helping Jason Brandt destroy cellphones and surveillance cameras.

In April 2022, Michelle Brandt rendered guilty pleas to the charges police filed against her, in exchange for a county prison sentence of 10 months to 23.5 months, followed by five years' probation. She was granted credit for time served, and court records show she was granted parole on May 20, 2022.

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