HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County jury took about 40 minutes Wednesday to render 38 guilty verdicts against an Altoona man accused of raping and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend’s daughter when she was between eight and 13 years old.

The now-18-year-old victim, who previously referred to Charles R. Fagan as “Dad,” started crying in relief and hugged supportive family members while the verdicts were announced.

“As soon as I heard the word guilty, my heart stopped,” the teenager said outside the Courthouse. “Justice was served here today.”

Inside the courtroom, the victim and her supporters watched the sheriff deputies put handcuffs on Fagan and lead him out of the courtroom, prompting them to clap and cheer.

“I feel like somebody listened,” the Altoona teenager said outside court. “I’m protected now and he is never going to be around my baby sister.”

Fagan, 43, showed no reaction as Prothonotary Robin Patton announced each guilty verdict for nine counts of rape of a child, nine counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, nine counts of statutory sexual assault, nine counts of indecent assault of a child less than 13 and single counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by forcible compulsion and endangering the welfare of a child.

The victim and her family members said that before Fagan left the courtroom, he turned in their direction and said he was sorry.

Until Wednesday, Fagan was free on a $100,000 bail bond posted in May 2019, about a month after his arrest prompted by the disclosures of the victim, then 13 years old.

During an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Altoona in April 2019, the girl described sexual interactions with Fagan that she said began when she was eight years old, about a year after he moved in with her and her mother.

On the witness stand Monday, the teenager spoke of how Fagan referred to their sexual interactions as “having fun” and how she referred to it as taking care of his “man needs.”

President Judge Wade A. Kagarise, who presided over the three-day trial, scheduled Fagan’s sentencing for May 29 after completion of a pre-sentence investigation.

Defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey asked Kagarise to allow his client to remain free on bail until sentencing, pointing out that Fagan has always shown up for court proceedings.

First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith asked Kagarise to revoke Fagan’s bail. She pointed out that 18 of his convictions carry a maximum penalty of 20-to-40 years’ incarceration, so his potential minimum sentence could be as much as 360 years.

“That’s an incentive to flee,” Smith said.

Dickey said outside court that he will review sentence guidelines and look for mitigating factors to offset the anticipated lengthy incarceration request from the district attorney’s office.

Dickey also said he will review the case for appeal issues based on judicial rulings affecting what evidence the jury was allowed to hear. Kagarise, who took over the 2019 case previously assigned to Judge Elizabeth Doyle, made several rulings prior to and during the trial which led to Wednesday’s verdicts.

Smith, after the trial concluded, praised Altoona police and Det. Sgt. Terry Merritts for outstanding work in a case where the defendant presented what the prosecutor told the jury was one of the one of the most ludicrous statements she’s heard in years.

In an interview with Merritts, Fagan admitted to dealing with strong sexual urges and awakening in the middle of sexual encounters without knowing how they started.

As Merritts questioned Fagan about sexual interactions with his girlfriend’s daughter, Fagan said he had no recollection of that. But Fagan also told Merritts he wouldn’t call the girl a liar based on what has happened while he’s asleep.

“They say this is a confession,” Dickey said of audio recording of Merritt’s interviewing Fagan played in court for the jury. “I don’t believe that.”

In closing arguments, Dickey told the jurors his client tried to come up with an explanation because he was under the mistaken belief that the girl had taken a lie detector test and passed.

Smith offered a different conclusion after the trial was over.

“I think (Fagan) was being cowardly and it was a ruse,” she said.

In her closing argument, Smith told the jurors that the case comes down to who they believe is being truthful.

Dickey proposed that the girl was lying because Fagan and her mother were involved in a custody battle over her younger sister.

Smith asked the jury to reject that claim and reminded them of the 13-year-old girl’s interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Altoona. In that interview, the girl described sexual interactions with Fagan, spoke of derogatory feelings about herself, spoke of holding a secret for a long time and asked the interviewer to believe her.

“I applaud this jury for the verdicts rendered today,” Smith said. “They’ve done the community a service.”

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