David Michael Heck (Centre County Correctional Facility)
An 18-year-old man in Pennsylvania will spend up to a decade behind bars after he admitted to sexually assaulting a mentally disabled child in the woods last year. Centre County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jonathan D. Grine last week ordered David Michael Heck to serve a sentence of five to 10 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree felony rape of a child under the age of 13, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Heck, who has been in detention on $50,000 bond since his initial arrest in October 2022, was credited with 275 days of time served. Following his release from prison, Heck will also be required to spend three years on probation. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life, according to Pennsylvania law.
In addition to the rape charge, Heck was also charged with two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a mentally disabled person, one count of corruption of a minor, and one count of indecent assault on a person less than 13 years of age. However, those charges were dropped as part of Heck’s agreement to plead guilty to rape.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Grine gave Heck the chance to address the court before formally handing down the sentence. Heck stood up and said, “Wish me luck,” according to a report from the Centre Daily Times. Judge Grine reportedly declined Heck’s request.
According to a report from Altoona, Pennsylvania, CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV, two witnesses told investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police that they were walking on Oct. 15, 2020, when they spotted a naked Heck in the woods with a little boy. When they went to inspect further, the witnesses said they saw Heck “masturbating over” the child, Johnstown NBC affiliate WJAC-TV reported.
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When the two witnesses confronted Heck, he reportedly said he would leave, then got on his bike and fled the scene. The two witnesses followed him while simultaneously calling 911, per WJAC.
The witnesses then approached the child, who was described in the criminal complaint as being “visibly upset and crying.” The victim reportedly told the witnesses that Heck had forced him to engage in oral sex activities against his will in the wooded area. Heck also reportedly threatened to child’s safety if he told anyone what had happened, investigators wrote in the complaint.
In an interview with the victim’s mother, she reportedly told investigators that Heck went to her home earlier that day and claimed that he was 14 years old and was a friend of her son, asking if the boy could come out and play, according to WTAJ. When the victim came outside to greet Heck, the child reportedly said he did not know Heck. Heck reportedly responded by saying the child didn’t recognize him because he had “changed his looks.”
Heck, who has been in the Centre County Correctional Facility since October, will be transferred to a state prison to serve out his sentence.
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