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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Hollidaysburg man who admitted to sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child beginning when he was about 13 was sentenced Monday afternoon to 10 years' probation after the victim asked the judge for leniency.
Cory Lee Matley, 27, faced three felony charges each of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, single felony counts of sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault. He remained free on unsecured $200,000 since Sept. 11, 2023.
Appearing alongside Chief Public Defender Julia Burke for a plea hearing before Judge Louis C. Schmitt Jr., Matley pleaded guilty to two felony counts of sexual assault in exchange for 10 years' probation. The agreement stipulated that the first six months of Matley's probation would be served under house arrest but that no electronic monitoring would be done.
First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith told Schmitt that the resolution of Matley's case was "unusual" and that they were willing to make the deal due to the facts of the case. She said the assaults occurred when Matley was a juvenile himself and were only discovered after he had turned 18.
Matley has also undergone "extensive counseling," has a caseworker, psychiatrist and still sees a counselor twice a week, Smith said.
She told Schmitt that the victim, who was present in the courtroom, wanted Matley's sentence to fall short of incarceration time.
When given the opportunity to address the court, the victim said he didn't want Matley to go to jail.
"I want him to have a second chance," the victim said.
The victim's mother also spoke, saying she had seen growth in Matley since his arrest and didn't want his progress to be set back.
"I want this to be behind us and for us to keep growing," she said.
Smith said that, due to the nature of the charges he would be pleading guilty to, Matley would be a lifetime registrant under Megan's Law.
In addition to 10-years' probation, Schmitt ordered Matley to pay the cost of prosecution and $250 in fines.
The case was brought against Matley when the victim came forward in 2022 and said Matley sexually assaulted him over a period of years, from when he was about 4 to 12 years old. Police said the information was not brought forward to Children and Family Services or state police until after Matley was 21. The investigation into Matley began in June 2022, the police report states.
During a forensic interview, the victim said Matley forced him to watch pornography and described several incidents in which Matley would forcibly assault him. Matley later admitted in a police interview that the sexual incidents began when he was about 13 years old and happened several times, though he said he didn't remember how they started.
The assaults ended several years ago, both the victim and Matley said, with Matley stating he began to realize how it could affect other people. He also told police he had apologized to the victim about his actions, the report states.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.