Latrobe man could serve up to 20 years for child sex assaults

A Latrobe man was sentenced Friday to 5 1/2 to 20 years in state prison in three sex assault cases involving children.

Johnathan Rosario, 27, was ordered to spend seven years on probation following the prison term.

He entered a general guilty plea in October to all charges, including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and statutory sexual assault.

Assistant District Attorney Judith Potoka Petrush said the accuser in one of the cases has had mental health issues after the assault, which her mother and stepfather blame on Rosario.

“Her actions show, at times, she was severely damaged mentally and has serious trust issues,” Petrush said while reading a victim impact statement from the accuser’s stepfather.

Rosario has been jailed since his April 2016 arrest. State police said he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl he met through Facebook and a 13-year-old girl he took to his apartment from a Derry Township skating rink. He was charged in August 2016 in a third case involving sexual contact with another child in 2014.

He is required to register as a sex offender for life under Megan’s Law.

Defense attorney Ken Noga said Rosario has intellectual disabilities and went through a tough upbringing.

“I don’t think he ever intended to hurt somebody,” Noga said.

Noga described Rosario as a talented artist who would benefit from some education. As Judge Christopher Feliciani was looking at artwork Rosario brought to court, Rosario turned around and said “I’m sorry” to one of the accusers who was in court.

He told Feliciani that art has helped him express himself and he wants to prove that he is a better person.

“I’m terribly sorry about what’s been done,” Rosario said.

Feliciani said he considered the impact of the assaults on the victims, as well as Rosario’s intellectual disability in crafting the sentence.

“I don’t know if you really comprehend the degree to which you caused harm to the victims in this case,” Feliciani said. “I sincerely hope you recognize the consequences of your behavior.”