by peter e. bortner
Daren N. Levan, who admitted he sexually molested a girl beginning when she was 8 and continuing for about eight years, is a sexually violent predator who must spend more time in prison and many years on probation, a Schuylkill County judge ruled Friday.
Although he had reservations about it, Judge John E. Domalakes sentenced Levan, 45, of Hamburg, to serve six to 23 months in prison, plus seven additional years in probation.
"We accept this sentence because of the circumstances of the victim," Domalakes said, indicating that she did not want to testify and otherwise go through a trial. "She wants this matter over with."
Domalakes also sentenced Levan to pay costs, $3,000 in fines and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account, undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
He also ruled that, as a sexually violent predator, Levan must be subject to Megan's Law sanctions for the rest of his life.
By ruling that Levan is a sexually violent predator, Domalakes accepted the testimony of Pottsville psychologist Joseph B. Sheris, who evaluated the defendant on behalf of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board and concluded that he has a mental abnormality and exhibited predatory behavior toward the victim.
Levan pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to 10 counts each of corruption of minors and indecent exposure, eight of indecent assault, three each of depicting the sex act of a child and selling or furnishing liquor to a minor and one of endangering the welfare of children. Prosecutors dropped 10 counts of open lewdness and six of unlawful contact with a minor.
State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Levan with sexually molesting the girl beginning in February 2003, when she was 8 and he was 36.
The ages themselves clearly indicate Levan's problem, Sheris testified.
"It's indicating pedophilic sexual interest," he said. "He was offending the child during the prepubescent period."
Although Levan's behavior involved only one child, several aspects of it mark him as a predator, according to Sheris.
"There was a continuation. There was some expansion ... a wider range of deviance," he said. "He began to systematically groom this child."
Eventually, Levan started giving liquor to the victim, played sex-oriented games with her and offered her incentives to do what he wanted, according to Sheris.
"We have a wide range of deviant sexual behavior," he said.
Also, Levan tried to conceal his behavior, Sheris said.
"It's revealing some antisocial traits, hiding the deviance," he said.
Allan L. Sodomsky, Reading, Levan's lawyer, unsuccessfully argued that his client is not a sexually violent predator, saying the fact that he had only one victim was crucial.
District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon declined to comment on the case after sentencing.
The Megan's Law sanctions to which Levan will be subject include requirements that he report his address, employment and educational statuses, and any change in them, to state police for the rest of his life after he leaves prison. Any failure to comply with those sanctions is a crime in itself and could result in further prosecution.
Megan's Law was enacted in Pennsylvania, numerous other states and at the federal level following the 1994 murder of Megan Nicole Kanka, 7, of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, N.J. Jesse Timmendequas, Kanka's killer, was a convicted sex offender and one of the girl's neighbors.
He is serving a life sentence following then-New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine's commutation of his death sentence after that state abolished its death penalty.Defendant: Daren N. Levan
Age: 45
Residence: Hamburg
Crimes committed: 10 counts each of corruption of minors and indecent exposure, eight of indecent assault, three each of depicting the sex act of a child and selling or furnishing liquor to a minor and one of endangering the welfare of children
Prison sentence: Six to 23 months in prison, plus seven additional years in probation.