CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – A California man originally charged with over 1,500 counts related to the alleged sexual assault of a child in Clarion County was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 40 years in state prison.
(Photo above: David Kenneth Detjen Jr. being escorted into the Clarion County Courthouse prior to sentencing. Photos by Dave Cyphert of ProPoint Media Photography.)
On Wednesday, April 10, President Judge James Arner sentenced 47-year-old David Kenneth Detjen Jr., of San Bernardino, CA, formerly of Fairmount City, to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 40 years in state prison.
Judge Arner ordered Detjen to a minimum of 48 months to a maximum of 96 months on each of five first-degree felony counts of rape forcible compulsion, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
According to Clarion County Assistant District Attorney Drew Welsh, Detjen was scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Wednesday, March 13, but instead, he chose to enter a guilty plea on the above charges. His plea was contingent on him receiving a sentence of 20- to 40-years in a state correctional institute.
As a result of the plea agreement, the following charges were dismissed:
– Rape Forcible Compulsion, Felony 1 (307 counts)
– Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse Person Less Than 16 Yrs Age, Felony 1 (six counts)
– Statutory Sexual Assault, Felony 2 (100 counts)
– Aggravated Indecent Assault W/O Consent, Felony 1 (312 counts)
– Aggravated Indecent Assault — Complainant Less Than 16, Felony 2 (100 counts)
– Sexual Assault, Felony 2 (312 counts)
– Indecent Assault Person Less 16 Yrs Age, Misdemeanor 2 (100 counts)
– Indecent Assault-W/O Cons Of Other, Misdemeanor 2 (312 counts)
Detjen will also be required to register as a Tier 3 sex offender, which requires a lifetime registration.
He is currently lodged in the Clarion County Jail, awaiting transfer to a state correctional facility.
Details of the case:
According to a criminal complaint, on February 12, 2018, Sergeant Nicole Peck, of the New Bethlehem Police Department, was assigned a sexual assault case that allegedly occurred at a known residence in Fairmount City between the years of 2009 to 2012.
The investigation began due to a sexual assault case in San Bernadine, California.
The complaint states that David Detjen disclosed to a known investigator in California that he sexually assaulted a known victim in the state of Pennsylvania during the years of 2009 to 2012 before moving his family to California.
On April 10, 2018, Sergeant Peck interviewed a known victim at the New Bethlehem Police Department.
During the interview with the victim, it was learned that the victim was sexually assaulted by Detjen for the first time in 2009 when the victim was 14 years of age. Detjen was 37 years of age when the incidents started to take place.
The complaint states that Detjen told the victim “I want to try something,” and then had sexual intercourse in a bedroom of the known residence, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, Detjen had sexual intercourse with the victim on an average of approximately two to three times per week for three years while residing in Pennsylvania.
In addition, Detjen had the victim perform oral sex on him more than five times, and Detjen performed oral sex on the victim approximately one to two times, the complaint states.
Based on the investigation, charges were filed against Detjen on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, in Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey C. Miller’s office.
EDITOR’S NOTE #1: Extreme graphic details were not included due to the sexual nature of the alleged crime.
EDITOR’S NOTE #2: Additional details were omitted to help protect the identity of the victim.
