‘You will not hurt them again’: Bellefonte area man sentenced after sexually assaulting child
A 53-year-old Benner Township man was sentenced Tuesday to 3-6 years in state prison, in addition to at least 3 years probation, after digitally penetrating and groping a preteen at least twice since 2022.
Dennis L. Ring, 53, will also be forced to report his future whereabouts, job, name change, etc. for life as a sex offender.
“Our prayers are answered,” one of the survivor’s family members said after the sentence, embracing others on a third-floor Bellefonte courtroom in front of Judge Julia Rater.
Ring agreed to a plea deal in April that saw him admit guilt on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated indecent assault of a child and a third-degree felony charge of indecent assault of someone younger than 13. The Centre County District Attorney’s Office agreed to drop two other third-degree charges as part of the plea.
Both the sexual assault survivor and her mother appeared in court Tuesday to offer impact statements.
Ring, who often tapped his right foot Tuesday as they spoke, appeared to look in the mother’s direction while she talked — but he kept his eyes focused downward when the survivor addressed the courtroom. The soft-spoken girl explained, in detail, how he transformed her from a bubbly, smiling girl who always looked for the good in people into someone who always frowned and instead looked for the bad as a defense mechanism.
“You destroyed me,” she told him.
Said the mother, who spoke first and looked directly at Ring: “This time you can’t run and hide and tell everyone it’s a lie. ... My children and my world, my everything. You will not hurt them again.”
The child told a forensic interviewer the first time Ring inappropriately touched her was in December 2022, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. She also told police that Ring groped her in March 2023.
Ring told investigators he groped the child at least once. He denied inappropriately touching the child more than once, police wrote.
“I guarantee you I did it if I was drunk,” Ring said, according to police.
Ring did not speak Tuesday.
He was placed into handcuffs after the sentencing to be transported, at least temporarily, to the Centre County Correctional Facility. It’s not yet known where he will serve his full sentence.
He is credited with three days served so far.
This story was originally published August 13, 2024 at 12:36 PM.
