http://articles.mcall.com/2009-12-12/news/4491977_1_girl-in-warren-county-easton-man-karate
Karate teacher gets up to 6 years in prison for sex with teen student
December 12, 2009 | By Riley Yates OF THE MORNING CALL
An Easton man who had sex with a teenager he met while teaching karate will serve up to six years behind bars.
Joshua Roehrich, 30, received the sentence Friday after earlier pleading guilty to three counts of felony statutory sexual assault against the girl, whom he had sex with for two years, starting when she was 14.
"He clearly knew the age of this young lady, and his actions are going to be punished," Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito said.
Roehrich was a karate instructor in Phillipsburg when the girl began taking lessons from him. The abuse began in 2006 and stretched to the end of 2007, with more than 50 sexual encounters, Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said.
"How can we trust people when things like this happen?" Broscius asked. "It sends a chilling effect -- to everyone."
Under Zito's sentence, Roehrich will be eligible for parole after three years in jail. He'll have six years of probation once he completes his prison time.
Roehrich has also pleaded guilty to having sex with the girl in Warren County, N.J. Under an agreement with prosecutors there, his sentence will run concurrent with Pennsylvania's, meaning no extra incarceration.
Roehrich's lawyers and his family spoke glowingly of him at Friday's hearing, saying he was a mentor who had never before been in trouble with the law.
"This was not done out of maliciousness, but out of kindness," said Roehrich's mother, Mary Ellen Roehrich. "It was a mistake."
"It is hard in a situation like this to say, "This is a good man, who has done good things,"' added attorney Timothy Prendergast. "But I sincerely think that is so."
Roehrich said what he did was not out of malice.
"I became very close to an individual I cared about quite a bit," he said. "I stepped over the line."
Karate teacher gets up to 6 years in prison for sex with teen student
December 12, 2009 | By Riley Yates OF THE MORNING CALL
An Easton man who had sex with a teenager he met while teaching karate will serve up to six years behind bars.
Joshua Roehrich, 30, received the sentence Friday after earlier pleading guilty to three counts of felony statutory sexual assault against the girl, whom he had sex with for two years, starting when she was 14.
"He clearly knew the age of this young lady, and his actions are going to be punished," Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito said.
Roehrich was a karate instructor in Phillipsburg when the girl began taking lessons from him. The abuse began in 2006 and stretched to the end of 2007, with more than 50 sexual encounters, Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said.
"How can we trust people when things like this happen?" Broscius asked. "It sends a chilling effect -- to everyone."
Under Zito's sentence, Roehrich will be eligible for parole after three years in jail. He'll have six years of probation once he completes his prison time.
Roehrich has also pleaded guilty to having sex with the girl in Warren County, N.J. Under an agreement with prosecutors there, his sentence will run concurrent with Pennsylvania's, meaning no extra incarceration.
Roehrich's lawyers and his family spoke glowingly of him at Friday's hearing, saying he was a mentor who had never before been in trouble with the law.
"This was not done out of maliciousness, but out of kindness," said Roehrich's mother, Mary Ellen Roehrich. "It was a mistake."
"It is hard in a situation like this to say, "This is a good man, who has done good things,"' added attorney Timothy Prendergast. "But I sincerely think that is so."
Roehrich said what he did was not out of malice.
"I became very close to an individual I cared about quite a bit," he said. "I stepped over the line."
http://blog.pennlive.com/lvbreakingnews/2008/06/easton_man_indicted_for_allege.html
Easton man indicted for alleged sexual assault of Phillipsburg teen
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008, 12:36 PM Updated: Thursday, June 26, 2008, 1:09 PM
By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times
A Warren County grand jury indicted a 28-year-old Easton man yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Phillipsburg girl over a two year period.
Joshua Roehrich of the first block of Northampton Street is accused of abusing the girl from June of 2005 until September of 2007 when the girl was 16, according to a 10-count indictment.
Roehrich faces five charges of second degree sexual assault for performing various sex acts with the girl over the two year period, court documents say. He also is charged with four counts of fourth degree sexual contact over the same period and one count of third degree endangering the welfare of a child, documents say.
Related topics: Joshua Roehrich, Phillipsburg, sexual assault, Warren County grand jury indictment
Easton man indicted for alleged sexual assault of Phillipsburg teen
Published: Thursday, June 26, 2008, 12:36 PM Updated: Thursday, June 26, 2008, 1:09 PM
By Sara K. Satullo | The Express-Times
A Warren County grand jury indicted a 28-year-old Easton man yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Phillipsburg girl over a two year period.
Joshua Roehrich of the first block of Northampton Street is accused of abusing the girl from June of 2005 until September of 2007 when the girl was 16, according to a 10-count indictment.
Roehrich faces five charges of second degree sexual assault for performing various sex acts with the girl over the two year period, court documents say. He also is charged with four counts of fourth degree sexual contact over the same period and one count of third degree endangering the welfare of a child, documents say.
Related topics: Joshua Roehrich, Phillipsburg, sexual assault, Warren County grand jury indictment