HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County judge has declined to dismiss the witness/victim intimidation charge filed against a former Bellwood-Antis School District administrator, even though the administrator’s defense attorney says the case comes down to nothing more than an unsupported claim.

In a recent ruling to consider challenges offered on behalf of former athletic director Charles N. Burch, President Judge Wade A. Kagarise denied a motion to dismiss the third-degree felony.

“The court agrees with the Commonwealth that any inconsistencies are for the jury to decide,” Kagarise wrote.

State Attorney General Lauren Eichelberger, in court hearings and in court documents, acknowledged amending the original charges to indicate that the alleged threat occurred on or about Feb. 19, 2020, and not Feb. 20, 2020, based on a record showing a cellphone call between the teenager and his mother at 7:51 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2020.

At the time of the alleged threat, state police were investigating sexual assault allegations against middle school wrestling coach Ryan Blazier. Charges against Burch indicate that he summoned one of the teenage victims into his office and asked if anything was going on at wrestling practice.

The teenager, who testified at Burch’s preliminary hearing in January, said he answered “weird stuff” but didn’t go into detail. In response, the teenager said Burch said he would handle it, then told him not to tell anyone or he could be suspended or benched from the football team.

The teenager reported calling his mother after that meeting because he said he was upset at the possibility of being suspended or benched.

During a court hearing in May before Kagarise, defense attorney Thomas K. Hooper pointed out to the judge that during the January preliminary hearing, the teenager admitted that he didn’t know when his meeting with Burch occurred and that he “threw a random date out.”

The defense attorney also recalled the teenager’s testimony, indicating that was in a third-period English class when summoned to Burch’s office, something that’s not supported by the cellphone record showing a 7:51 a.m. call.

During a follow-up hearing on Sept. 24, Hooper called in witnesses to further challenge the alleged series of events. Michael Lingenfelter, retired technology coordinator for the school district, identified no phone calls between Burch’s office and a third-period English classroom on Feb. 19 or 20, 2020.

At that same court hearing, witnesses said Burch was assigned to hall duty from 7:30 a.m. to 7:55 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2020, and to an in-school suspension classroom during third-period on Feb. 20, 2020.

In response to that testimony, Eichelberger took the position that general statements as to where someone was supposed to have been are insufficient to indicate that a crime didn’t happen.

She took the position that it’s up to a jury to evaluate questions of credibility and evidentiary conflicts, prompting Kagarise to agree in his recent ruling.

At the Sept. 24 hearing, Hooper said he did not know how Eichelberger could ethically proceed with a case where the credibility of the sole witness was undermined.

Eichelberger, after that hearing, declined to comment.

Hooper, after learning of Kagarise’s ruling, said he understood the court’s position because issues of credibility — by law — are generally left to a jury. But he also said he believed he offered sufficient reasons for the charge to be dismissed.

“Everything (the teenager) testified to, save for his unsupported claim of a threat, the Commonwealth now agrees did not happen,” Hooper said. “We hoped the court would find that the claim was totally devoid of merit. We trust a jury will.”

Based on an Oct. 23 review of pending court cases, Burch’s case is one of several cases to be considered for jury selection on Dec. 16. Burch remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail.

In a related case, jury selection is scheduled on Dec. 2 for Timothy Andrekovich of Tipton, former head wrestling coach at Bellwood-Antis.

Represented by attorney Lance Marshall of State College, Andrekovich faces a felony count of endangering the welfare of a child in a case where he is accused of failing to carry out a safety plan that would have prevented Blazier from having unsupervised access to students.

Blazier, convicted by a jury in October 2021 of sexual assault offenses, is serving a sentence of 21- to 42-years’ incarceration.

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

BASD settles second lawsuit

By Kay Stephens

kstephens@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Bellwood-Antis School District has resolved a second civil court lawsuit filed on behalf of a student sexual assault victim by authorizing an insurance provider to make $1.6 million in payments to the student and the law firm that represented him.

The district’s action is similar to action taken in November 2023, when the district authorized a $1 million payment to resolve the first civil court lawsuit filed on behalf of a different student who was also recognized as a sexual assault victim.

In both cases, the students accused former middle school wrestling coach Ryan Blazier of sexually assaulting them on school grounds in 2019 and 2020.

Blazier is currently an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Green, serving a sentence of 21- to 42-years’ incarceration. He continues to appeal the seven sexual assault convictions handed down in his October 2021 criminal court jury trial where the two student victims testified.

The settlement in the second civil court lawsuit surfaced in July when a document was filed at the Blair County Courthouse, indicating that the case was resolved. School district solicitor Carl Beard, in response to a Right-to-Know request from the Altoona Mirror for a copy of the settlement agreement, said it was approved at the board’s June meeting.

Under the latest agreement, the district’s insurance company is instructed to make a $1.11 million payment to the student victim and to Marcus & Mack, whose Indiana County attorneys represented the student in court.

In addition, the agreement authorizes the insurance company to pay $490,000 to Prudential Assignment Settlement Services Corp., which will issue monthly and lump sum payments to the student victim through 2046.

In the first civil lawsuit settlement, the district authorized a $550,000 payment to the designated student victim and to Marcus & Mack. It authorized an additional $450,000 payment that would be apportioned monthly through 2048 to that student.

Because both settlements contain confidentiality clauses, those involved in negotiating the terms and amounts have prohibited themselves from commenting on the settlements or explaining the differences in the payments. Violations could result in breach accusations and damage requests.

The confidentiality clauses, however, do recognize disclosures as allowed by law. That includes the release of settlement documents recognized in Pennsylvania as public records and available for access under the state’s Right-to-Know Law.