HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Duncansville man has pleaded guilty to corruption of minors and indecently assaulting a child less than 13 for a sentence of 10 years’ probation.

Blair County President Judge Wade A. Kagarise imposed the negotiated sentence on Feb. 28 and told Matthew John Sisco, 44, not to return to court with similar violations.

“You got a good deal here from the Commonwealth, and I’m not going to let it happen again,” Kagarise said.

The judge’s cautionary remarks came after the victim’s mother spoke of how her daughter, nine years old at the time of the offenses and now 14, was emotionally harmed by the abuse.

Altoona police charged Sisco on Sept. 1, 2023, after an investigation into what started with a report to ChildLine in June 2022.

Police said the girl was interviewed at the Altoona’s Center for Child Justice, where she spoke of Sisco coming into her bedroom and touching her under her clothes. The girl said Sisco told her that what he was doing “was normal” and that she shouldn’t tell her mother.

Police also reviewed cellphone video the mother captured on July 1, 2022, when she confronted Sisco about the child’s allegations.

When Kagarise asked the woman, who was shaking as she spoke in court, if she agreed with the negotiated plea, the woman spoke of wanting to prevent her daughter from having to testify in court.

When the judge asked if he should accept the plea so the case would be resolved, the mother answered: “I’m going to accept this and put it in God’s hands.”

The negotiated plea was presented in court by defense attorney Maribeth Schaffer on behalf of attorney Thomas M. Dickey and Assistant District Attorney Morgan Menard.

For the probationary sentence, Sisco entered guilty pleas to six felony counts of corruption of minors and six misdemeanor counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13.

The convictions will classify Sisco as a Tier III sexual offender, who for the rest of his life must regularly register his address and related identification information with state police.

Sisco, who has been free on unsecured bail since his arrest, said little in court other than to confirm that he was pleading guilty. He also agreed to be sentenced prior to completion of a court-ordered evaluation by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.

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