Blazier

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The former Bellwood-Antis School District wrestling coach convicted of sexually assaulting two student wrestlers entered guilty pleas Tuesday in Blair County Court to raping and sexually assaulting a girl with whom he resided for nearly five years in Antis Township.

Ryan Blazier, 45, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Greene, entered guilty pleas to seven felonies for a sentence of four to eight years’ incarceration, followed by two years’ probation, to be served at the same time as his current sentence of 21 to 42 years’ incarceration.

Blazier, who challenged his convictions in connection with the student wrestlers, participated in Tuesday’s court hearing via video transmission, where he admitted that there was a factual basis for the charges involving the girl.

“And you’re pleading guilty?” Dauphin County Senior Judge Richard A. Lewis asked Blazier, who responded “yes.”

Beyond that, Blazier offered minimal comment. When Lewis asked if he had anything he wanted to say, Blazier told the judge: “Nothing.”

Defense attorney Joseph Addink said the plea agreement preserved Blazier’s option to pursue a Rule 600 appeal. That would allow Blazier the option of arguing that the Commonwealth failed to put him on trial within the time frame to meet his right to a speedy trial.

“He really wanted that option,” Addink said outside court.

The girl, now 14 years old, and her family, were in court, with support by members of the Keystone Chapter of the Guardians of the Children motorcycle club.

First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith advised Lewis that the family was in agreement with the negotiated resolution.

Smith provided Lewis with a written statement prepared by the victim that the judge read and filed with the case.

“What was done to me just doesn’t go away,” the teenager wrote. “I’m trying to heal but it’s hard … I still feel broken sometimes. I just want to feel normal again.”

Lewis told the girl he admired her courage for writing what he described as “a very powerful, moving statement, expressing the emotional pain this has caused you.”

Based on an investigation by state police at Hollidaysburg, Blazier raped and sexually assaulted the girl when she was between 3 and 8 years old, from February 2014 to October 2018.

The girl’s allegations surfaced in late 2019 when reported to the county’s Children, Youth & Families agency. That reporting also generated a notice to Bellwood-Antis School District about an ongoing child abuse investigation. While the district initially removed Blazier from coaching duties, testimony at a recent trial indicated that the district allowed him a day later to resume coaching as long as another adult was present.

State police at Hollidaysburg, who arrested Blazier in February 2020, charged him with numerous sexual offenses based on the girl’s allegations and the allegations of two student wrestlers, who accused Blazier of sexually assaulting them in the middle school’s small wrestling room.

While addressing pre-trial motions in July 2021, then-Blair County Judge Daniel J. Milliron deemed that the criminal charges should be evaluated in two trials, one focused on the student wrestlers’ allegations and one on the girl’s allegations.

The October 2021 trial leading to the convictions based on the wrestlers’ claims resulted in the sentence of 21 to 42 years’ incarceration that Milliron handed down in January 2022.

Smith also advised Lewis that in light of Blazier’s guilty pleas to two counts of rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, two counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13, one count of corruption of minors and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, he will be a Tier III sex offender who must register his address and related identification information with state police for the rest of his life.

Smith said the negotiated agreement also requires Blazier to attend sex offender counseling and to undergo an evaluation by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine if he is a sexually violent predator.

The negotiated plea agreement forbids Blazier from any contact with the girl and/or her family, Smith said.

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