East Drumore Township, PA – As she sat in a church classroom at just 7 years old, a girl was repeatedly assaulted by the man trusted to teach her Bible lessons.
Michael Todd Hess, 50, of Church Street in East Drumore Township, was sentenced Friday to five to 10 years in state prison and 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to multiple felony charges, including aggravated indecent assault of a child and unlawful contact with a minor. He also pleaded guilty to indecent assault of a 21-year-old woman in a separate incident years later.
Prosecutors said Hess assaulted the child 30 to 36 times in 2011 inside a classroom at a church on Cinder Road in Providence Township. The abuse, which took place “almost every week during the school year,” continued for months while Hess was a Bible study leader at the church, according to Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick.
The now-adult victim, surrounded by family and church members in court, provided a written statement that was read aloud during sentencing. She said she once viewed Hess as a close family friend but lived in silence for more than a decade, haunted by what had happened.
“All those years I felt like I had no voice,” she wrote, explaining that she later came forward in hopes of protecting others. Her letter described feelings of shame and confusion that lasted for years.
The case was prosecuted by Haverstick, who praised the victim’s strength in coming forward. Judge Dennis Reinaker handed down the sentence, acknowledging the lasting effects the abuse had on the victim.
In addition to the 2011 assaults, Hess admitted to indecently assaulting a 21-year-old woman at a home on Mount Hope Road in East Drumore Township in January 2016.
Speaking in court, Hess called his actions “brutal” and apologized for the harm he caused. He did not contest the charges.
Hess was convicted on two counts of aggravated indecent assault, one count each of unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, indecent assault of a child under 13, and three counts of indecent assault without consent.
He will serve his sentence in state prison and will be subject to a decade of supervised probation after his release.
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Key Points
- Michael Todd Hess sentenced to 5–10 years in prison and 10 years probation for multiple assaults
- Offenses included 30–36 assaults on a 7-year-old girl in a church classroom in 2011
- Additional conviction stems from 2016 incident involving a 21-year-old woman
