Man sentenced for ‘racial and gender motivated’ attacks at Penn State, State College
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- He pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation and disorderly conduct; given time-served.
- Court imposed about four years supervision and a 500‑foot ban of Penn State property.
- Police said he attacked at least four people in racial and gender-motivated assaults.
A Centre County man apologized Tuesday ahead of his sentencing in a case that Penn State police described as a series of “racial and gender motivated” attacks on campus and in downtown State College.
David Park, 27, of Patton Township, told Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine he was “sorry for my sins” after pleading guilty last week to misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and ethnic intimidation.
Park, who has been incarcerated for about 12 weeks at the Centre County Correctional Facility, received a time-served sentence as part of the agreement. He will be on supervision for nearly four years, half of which is probation.
He is also prohibited from going within 500 feet of Penn State property. Ten charges were dropped, including counts of assault and resisting arrest.
Park was accused of attacking at least four people over a five-week period this summer. Two are women who are Penn State students, while the others are Black males.
At least two were captured on video and corroborated by witness statements, a Penn State police detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. No major injuries were reported.
Park admitted to the attacks in an interview with police. He told an officer he has a “hatred for Black males,” that his enemies are “always Black people” and that he wanted to “face his fears and see how strong he was,” police wrote.
He also said he has “lustful motivations” and a fear of communicating with women, police wrote. The detective described Park as a “clear and immediate threat to public safety.”
“The combination of unprovoked assaults, discriminatory animus, and unpredictable behavior establishes that he presents a serious and ongoing danger to the community at large,” the detective wrote.
None of his accusers prepared a written statement or were in court Tuesday.