After years of litigation a former Carbon County psychologist has begun serving his state prison term on sexual assault charges.

Dr. Michael Degilio, 48, of Jim Thorpe, reported to the county prison on Monday to begin serving a four- to eight-year state prison term. The state term was imposed by President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II after a jury convicted Degilio on May 14, 2014, of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and indecent exposure. The sentence was imposed on Nov. 17, 2014. The prison term will be followed by two years of state probation.He reported to the prison after the state’s Supreme Court denied his petition for allowance of appeal of the state Superior Court’s opinion, which denied his appeal of the verdict and sentence imposed.The case has been lingering in the court system for a long time. Degilio was first charged in 2009. The case never got to trial until May 2014 because of various delays for court filings/motions and medical problems for Degilio.Just before his scheduled sentencing in August 2014, Degilio changed legal counsel.Attorney John Waldron of Allentown, who represented Degilio throughout the criminal case from its beginning until the jury’s verdict, was replaced by Philadelphia area attorneys David Nenner and Todd Mosser.After the sentence was imposed, Degilio appealed the verdict and sentence to Nanovic. Nanovic denied the appeal. Degilio then filed an appeal with the state Superior Court. In July a three-judge panel of the Superior Court denied the appeal. Degilio then filed a petition with the state’s highest court to review the Superior Court’s decision. That appeal was denied late last week.Case historyMahoning Township police officer Jeffrey D. Frace charged Degilio with having a then 40-year-old woman perform a sexual act during an office visit in February 2009. The charges were filed after the woman contacted township police.The woman testified at trial that it was her second visit with Degilio after she had been released from the Blue Mountain Health System’s Lehighton Campus Behavioral Health Unit.She said she was suffering from deep depression and was on medication. She said she was referred to Degilio by the hospital after the doctor she wanted to see was not available.She said at her first visit that Degilio said he could help her.Degilio denied having any kind of sexual contact with the woman and at trial testified that the alleged second meeting, when the woman claimed the sexual act took place, never occurred.Degilio told the jury he only met with the victim for 10 minutes on Feb. 20, 2009, that he ended the interview after she had indicated she had a gun at home and thought of using it on herself.He testified he told the woman if she wanted to continue treatment she had to get rid of the gun and come to her next appointment with her husband. He said she became belligerent when he mentioned that the husband would have to come with her.He said he gave her two appointment dates, Feb. 24 and 27, because she didn’t know when her husband would be able to attend because of his work.Degilio said the woman later said she would attend the Feb. 24 appointment, but he said she never showed up.The woman testified that she did show up for the Feb. 24 appointment and that was when Degilio had her perform the sexual act.She said she was seated on a couch and was forced to perform the sex act by Degilio.Degilio has been free on bail since his conviction posting $100,000 cash bail. After a hearing on the appeal Nanovic change the bail from unsecured to straight cash.In addition to the prison term and probation period imposed, Nanovic said under the provisions of Megan’s Law, Degilio must register for life as a sexual offender, follow all registration requirements of the law, and have a sexual offenders evaluation.He must also pay restitution to the victim of $4,969.48, have no contact with the victim or any witnesses, supply a DNA sample, and pay court costs of about $1,000.Nanovic also said Degilio is barred from practicing during the entire length of the sentence no matter what any state board might rule.Degilio has been supervised by the Lehigh County Adult Probation Office. Degilio is a former employee of the Carbon County Adult Probation office and because of that the county office recused itself from his supervision.Degilio will be held in the county prison and later transferred to a state correctional institution for classification and then to a prison where he will serve the term.The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Ann Dyrda Hatton.