Tyrone man found to be sexually violent predator
Schaul pleaded no contest to charges of abusing young girl
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County judge upheld the sexually violent predator determination Monday in the case of the Tyrone man accused of regularly abusing a young girl beginning when she was 5 years old.
Barry A. Schaul, 75, previously pleaded no contest to all charges against him, including four felony counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age and single felony counts of criminal solicitation - rape of child, criminal solicitation - involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with child and corruption of minors.
Schaul appeared via video feed Monday for a sexually violent predator hearing before Judge Paula M. Aigner.
During the hearing, First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith called on Brenda Manno, a board member of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, to provide expert testimony regarding Schaul's designation. Manno said she performed an assessment of Schaul on Sept. 17 and subsequently created a report on her findings.
Manno said that Schaul agreed to participate in the assessment but denied the allegations, saying he would never do anything to the victim and that he was "barely around her."
In determining Schaul's designation of being a sexually violent predator, Manno said there were multiple incidents involving the victim beginning when she was 5 years old until she was about 10 years old. Schaul would have been between the ages of 65 and 71 during that time, Manno said.
"I found that he met the diagnostic criteria of pedophilic disorder," Manno said, adding that the condition could be managed but would never go away.
When asked by Smith about the possibility of future incidents, Manno said Schaul would "likely" engage in similar behavior if given the chance and met the criteria of being a sexually violent predator by statute.
Chief Public Defender Julia Burke also questioned Manno, asking if she was aware of Schaul's current medical condition. Burke said Schaul had suffered a series of strokes that left him impaired, wheelchair-bound and paralyzed on his left side.
Manno said she was aware but this would not necessarily affect the risk he poses to the community.
Smith then asked Manno if knowledge of Schaul's medical condition would affect her designation, to which Manno said no, as Schaul "still exhibits predatory behavior."
Following Manno's testimony, Aigner accepted Schaul's designation of being a sexually violent predator.
Aigner previously sentenced Schaul to 120 to 240 months -- or 10 to 20 years -- in a state correctional institution on Oct. 1.
Schaul had been incarcerated since his arrest on Sept. 9, 2023, in lieu of $150,000 bail.
Tyrone police began investigating Schaul in December 2022 after learning about a 10 year old who was sexually abused. The victim reported in a forensic interview that Schaul had begun watching pornography in his bedroom on her fifth birthday, the police report states.
The victim said that while watching pornography, Schaul would ask her to lick and rub him. She told police this happened multiple times over the years when was 5 to 7 years old. In other instances, she told police he touched her chest and genitals, the report states.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.