A Carbon County man was sentenced to a state prison term Tuesday afternoon after previously admitting he sexually assaulted two young girls.

Heinz Rausch, 70, of Palmerton, was sentenced by President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II to serve 30 to 60 months in a state prison. Rausch previously entered guilty pleas in two pending cases. He was charged by Palmerton police officer Kevin Buck with sexually assaulting two girls, who were 5 and 8 at the time, in two separate incidents.Rausch was sentenced on two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and indecent assault, and one count each of indecent exposure and corruption of a minor.In the case of the 5-year-old, Buck charged that the victim's sexual contacts with Rausch occurred in a hot tub and a bedroom.In the second case, the 8-year-old said that Rausch had touched in her private area and she would tell him to stop, which he did, but then would do it again.The incidents with the 8-year-old girl occurred over a time span of September 2010 to December 2011. With the 5-year-old the contacts occurred during the time span of April to September 2011.Yesterday defense attorney Michael P. Gough told the court his client could offer no explanation for his actions. He said when confronted by police Rausch admitted to the acts. He said he has expressed his "deepest regret for what happened."Rausch, crying, told Nanovic, "I'm so embarrassed. I'm so sorry."When asked by Nanovic why he did the acts, Rausch put his head down and did not respond.Family members of the victims were present in the courtroom but Assistant District Attorney Seth Miller said they did not want to speak.Miller did relate that the mother of one of the victims said her daughter still has nightmares about what occurred. He also said family members told him that they hoped the sentencing would bring some closure for them.Nanovic said he knows Rausch from the community and that he was a hardworking individual who also volunteered his services to the public."It's a mystery to me why this happened," Nanovic said. "Nothing you can do or the court can do to go back in time and change this. This will be with the victims for the rest of their lives."Rausch had undergone an evaluation by the state sexual offenders assessment board which determined he was not a violent sexual predator.In addition to the jail term Nanovic ordered Rausch to undergo both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, submit to a sexual offenders evaluation, have no contact with the victims or their families, make restitution to the victim's compensation board of $1,308, pay court costs, which average about $1,000, and under the provisions of Megan's Law, he must register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.He was given credit for 787 days spent in jail to date of the charges.Although he has served over two years of his term court personnel said he will probably not be released on his minimum date as he will be enrolled in sexual offenders counseling programs in the state system and will not be released until he finishes them.