Centre County man sentenced to at least a decade in prison for the rape of 6 women
A Patton Township man whose rapes and sexual assaults of six women were described by a Pennsylvania prosecutor as a “real-life nightmare” was sentenced Friday to a minimum of a decade in state prison.
Kevin P. Mullen, 51, was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine to 10 to 25 years in state prison for crimes that left the women frightened and unable to trust others. He received credit for nearly 15 months served in the county jail.
Mullen was also sentenced to 20 years of probation and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He pleaded guilty in November to one felony count each of rape, attempted rape and aggravated indecent assault.
Two women read a statement in the courtroom. Two others wrote statements that were read aloud on their behalf.
One described feeling safer in busy cities rather than cozy neighborhoods that remind her of where Mullen lived. Relationships with loved ones, she wrote, “began to fall apart.”
“Kevin Mullen set me back years. He traumatized me. He also re-traumatized me, opening old wounds. As a result of his actions, all that I had begun to rebuild started to crumble. I was frightened, terrified of being hurt again,” she wrote. “He took away my inspiration to continue my own business because people scared me. I didn’t know who I could trust. Places scared me. To this day, there are areas I avoid. My heart races; I sweat and shake looking for a way out.”
Another who remains in therapy said she has more frequent panic attacks and flashbacks. She also expressed feeling guilt and shame.
“I was constantly worried for my safety and felt like I had to watch my back for months until I knew he was in custody,” she said. “Even then, I will never feel safe again if he is ever released. I believe he will re-offend, given the opportunity.”
Mullen used social networking platforms between 2012 through March 2021 to connect with the women. He advertised he was looking for a cleaner or “someone to cuddle with.” All of the attacks were carried out in his home.
Each of the women described similar details of their encounters with Mullen, Patton Township police detective Thomas Snyder wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. Mullen told at least three women that he raped others and had “gotten away with it,” Snyder wrote.
“This is all I could muster today. I wanted so badly to be pretty. I wanted so badly to be pretty today, but I just couldn’t do it because he took that from me,” a woman wearing a black sweatshirt and green sweatpants said. “He took it completely, so now I have to put back the pieces of my broken confidence every day. But you know what? I’ll be pretty. I’ll be pretty and I’ll go to dinner because he has to pay for what he did to all of us. He doesn’t deserve to see my pretty ever again.”
Mullen did not offer a statement before his sentence was handed down. Defense lawyers Helen Stolinas and Steve Trialonas declined comment after the hearing.
Mullen’s attacks, one woman wrote, left her “astonished by his evil.”
“I remember thinking ‘I can’t believe he is hurting my body like this. This is so disgusting, awful and weird and dark and evil to the core,’ “ she wrote. “Being with Kevin that day in January left me permanently scarred and a physical and mental, emotional wound on my heart and soul that will be there until I die.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 2:05 PM.