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Bucks man sentenced to prison term for assaulting young girl

A Bucks County man was sentenced to a county prison term on Monday after previously admitting to sexually assaulting a young girl.

Andrew J. Shavel, 37, of Yardley, was sentenced by Judge Steven R. Serfass to serve three to one day less 24 months in the county prison. However, Shavel will not be serving any more time in the prison. He was given credit for 1,097 days already spent in the prison on the charges. He previously pleaded to two counts of indecent assault and one of corruption of a minor.Shavel was charged by state police at Fern Ridge following an incident at his then residence along Lovelace Road in Albrightsville.Troopers said on July 1, 2011, a then 9-year-old girl was at a residence and entered a bedroom where Shavel was present. He made inappropriate contact with the girl, troopers said.The charges fall under the provisions of Megan's Law. Shavel underwent an evaluation by the state sexual offenders assessment board and was found not to be a sexual violent predator.Shavel, who said he has mental health issues that date back to head injuries he sustained in an accident, will have to register with the state police for life as a sexual offender.Serfass called the incident an "egregious set of facts" which warranted a jail sentence. He also said the time Shavel has already spent in prison on the charge is past the standard range of state sentencing guidelines.The jail term will be followed by two years of probation.In addition, Serfass ordered Shavel to have no contact with the victim, get a mental health evaluation, supply a DNA sample, render 100 hours of community service, pay court costs of about $1,000, pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation and parole, and make restitution of $1,340.98 to the victim's compensation board.