Philipsburg man gets long prison sentence for indecent assault of 1-year-old
A Philipsburg man was sentenced Tuesday to at least a decade in state prison after earlier pleading no contest to indecently assaulting a 1-year-old.
Andrew L. Ramage, 28, was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine to a maximum of 20 years behind bars. He must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
The sentence was the maximum allowed by state law. Grine described the crime as a “brutal attack” against a defenseless baby.
Centre County prosecutors said they could scarcely think of a more egregious case of aggravated indecent assault, while Ramage said his multiple confessions were a result of psychosis and his plea was about ensuring he didn’t spend even longer in prison.
He was accused of indecently assaulting the toddler in January 2023. Multiple health care professionals told investigators her injuries were consistent with sexual abuse, including one who described them as “extremely unusual.”
Ramage confessed two months later. On back-to-back days, he offered admissions to troopers, a woman working at Mount Nittany Medical Center’s emergency room and a 911 dispatcher.
He pleaded no contest in January, less than two weeks before his trial was scheduled to begin. The plea meant he accepted the conviction, but did not admit guilt. A felony count of attempted child rape was dropped, as well as misdemeanor counts of indecent and simple assault.
Centre County Deputy District Attorney Crystal Hundt recommended the sentence Grine imposed, telling him Ramage “picked the most vulnerable victim in our community.” She said the child is weary of men, still reacts when her diaper is being changed and was left “forever scarred.”
“NO ONE deserves to be subjected to the violence and pain he chose to inflict on this innocent, helpless child,” Hundt wrote in her memo to Grine. “... To impose a lesser sentence would depreciate both the seriousness of the offense and the lifelong impact on the victim.”
Defense lawyer Karen E. Kuebler sought a minimum sentence of three years in state prison. She said prosecutors had little evidence beyond Ramage’s confessions.
Before his sentence was handed down, Ramage told the judge he offered them because it “felt like the whole world was convinced I did this.” He also said he has “no idea who did this.”
More than a dozen people — including his parents, wife, siblings and others — stood by him in letters they sent to Grine.
His father David L. Ramage and older brother Craig Ramage were among those who cast the confessions as “false” or made under duress. Craig Ramage said his brother has been “tragically misunderstood” and confessed only because he was scared and confused.
“The pain and fear this situation has caused him — and our family — is immeasurable. We have stood by him not out of blind loyalty, but because we know who he truly is,” Craig Ramage wrote. “We are devastated by what this process has taken from him already: his confidence, his sense of safety, and his trust in a system that he didn’t have the tools to navigate.”
His wife Lydia Ramage, meanwhile, said she and her 1-year-old daughter will “struggle immensely” while he’s incarcerated.
Some of the strongest language came from Ramage’s mother Amy Brown, who said her son was in the courtroom for a “crime he did not commit.”
Had the case gone to trial, Brown said an “entirely different picture would have been presented and much more would have been understood.” She also said she did not support Ramage’s decision to accept the plea agreement, but understood he didn’t want to “gamble the rest of his life away.”
“I know my son is not even close to being capable of committing such a heinous crime. Please believe me when I tell you, I would be the first to turn my child in if I felt any one of them had done anything like what Andrew has been charged with,” Brown wrote. “ But l was there, l saw what happened to my son, and it breaks my heart to see what’s happening to him now and will be in the future. His life has basically been ruined by a disease that no one understands or is willing to accept.”
It wasn’t entirely clear what “disease” Brown was referring to.
Ramage was led away from the Centre County Courthouse in handcuffs. He was transported to the Centre County Correctional Facility, where he will remain until he is transferred to the state prison system.