HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Tyrone man convicted in August of crimes that developed in 2021 and 2022 when he was trading marijuana for sex with teenagers was sentenced Friday in Blair County court to a minimum incarceration of 17 years and four months.

Paul Robert Holpit, 26, who said in court that he maintains his innocence, also offered a backhanded apology prior to being sentenced.

“I don’t want these girls to forgive me for something I didn’t do, and I can’t show remorse for something I didn’t do,” Holpit told President Judge Wade A. Kagarise. “But if I did do something, if I did hurt anybody, then I’m sorry.”

Kagarise, who imposed a maximum penalty of 48 years’ incarceration on Holpit’s convictions, told the female teenagers who came to court that he recognized how difficult it was for them to come forward.

Trial testimony revealed that the teenagers were getting marijuana from Holpit and when they lacked money to pay, he enticed them into sexual activities that included oral sex, video phone calls and the exchange of sexually explicit photos.

The jury that heard the allegations — and saw photos during Holpit’s trial — convicted him of 82 counts, including human trafficking, solicitation of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, possession of child pornography, manufacturing of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor, disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor and related offenses.

One of the victims provided a statement read Friday in court, indicating that when the verdicts were read, she felt like someone lifted a bag of bricks off her chest.

“That’s all I wanted for these past three years, to be believed about what happened to me, to all of us,” the now-20-year-old victim said.

Another victim spoke of becoming emotional every time she tries to address the matter and having to find the strength to speak out.

“We just do it because he needs to be locked up for a long time, and I can’t stress that enough,” she said.

The mother of two victims told Kagarise she has seen the emotional damage from Holpit’s interaction with her daughters and the efforts to hold him accountable.

“Not one bit of this has been easy,” the mother said.

Kagarise asked the victims to take some comfort in recognizing that their part in the legal process is largely concluded at sentencing. He also asked them to take comfort in the outcome of the trial.

“The jury in this case found your testimony to be credible,” Kagarise said. “And this court believes the jury determination was appropriate.”

First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith asked Kagarise to hand down a sentence of 69 years and three months to 137 years and six months, based on 82 separate crimes applicable to eight victims.

In the courtroom, Holpit bristled at that recommendation.

“I’m only 26 years old,” he told the judge. “Sixty-nine years?”

Defense attorney Joseph Addink proposed a sentence of six to 15 years, reflecting one pattern of conduct with eight different girls and his client’s minimal criminal history.

Addink also asked the judge, in a sentencing memorandum, to recognize that Holpit was 23 years old at the time of the offenses.

“This is a case of a young man who found himself in a position, due to selling marijuana, where girls were seeking him out and showing him attention, which then led him to wanting more than the relationship he had with them,” Addink said.

One of the victims accused him of taking advantage of her.

“You knew my weaknesses and used them to manipulate me,” she said.

Trial testimony revealed that one of the teenagers decided, in the spring of 2022, to tell Tyrone police and Tyrone Area High School personnel what was going on with Holpit after she heard that Holpit wanted to engage in sex with a 12-year-old girl.

Based on the convictions, Holpit will become a Tier III sex offender who, upon release from prison, will be required to register his identification and related information with state police for the rest of his life.

Kagarise, in Holpit’s sentencing order, included a clause advising that when considering his release, the state parole and probation board should evaluate his need for sexual offender treatment and notify all victims so they have an opportunity to provide input.

While Kagarise imposed a lesser sentence than Smith requested, she said outside court that the time the judge handed down provides a lengthy period of protection for the victims.

She also said that she hoped the Tyrone community shows compassion for them.

“In our criminal justice system, a jury of 12 people heard these girls and decided that they were telling the truth,” the prosecutor said. “There’s nothing that any of the girls get for coming forward … and none of this has been easy.”

Holpit indicated in court that he wants to be very involved in the appeal process. He also spoke of his desire to move away from the area after getting out of prison.

Outside court, the mother expressed disappointment with the sentence.

“There’s still a lot of healing to be done and 17 years is not enough for him,” the mother said. “We got a life sentence.”

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