Harold Trevorah "traumatized my daughter and granddaughter in a way that no child should ever be hurt," a Tamaqua woman tearfully told a Schuylkill County judge on Wednesday.

"It's been a very hard year for my little girl, counselors and doctors. But she's a fighter, and in time, she'll be all right," the woman said.After listening to her, Judge John Domalakes sentenced Trevorah, 70, also of Tamaqua, to eight to 20 years in state prison."At your age, a 20-year sentence could be a life sentence," Domalakes said."Maybe now our family can begin to heal," the woman said outside the courtroom.Trevorah pleaded guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, two counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, and two counts of indecent sexual assault of a child and corruption of minors.Charges of indecent sexual assault by forcible compulsion, aggravated indecent assault by forcible compulsion, aggravated indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, endangering the welfare of children, and indecent assault by forcible compulsion were dismissed during plea negotiations.Domalakes also ordered Trevorah to undergo a sex offender assessment.Trevorah, confined to a wheelchair since a stroke, did not visibly react to his sentence, nor to the woman's victim impact statement.His plea was "nolo contendere," meaning he does not admit to the facts as presented, but admitted prosecutors would be able to prove them in court beyond a reasonable doubt.An exchange between Trevorah and Domalakes triggered a cry of anguished disbelief when Trevorah said he could not remember the incidents since his stroke. Domalakes hesitated to accept his plea, meaning Trevorah would face trial.The children's mother/grandmother was upset at the possibility the children would have to relive their experiences on the witness stand.But after Trevorah conferred with his lawyer, Gary Marchalk of Tamaqua, Marchalk told the judge Trevorah had signed an admission soon after being charged.That was enough for Domalakes to agree to accept the plea.Trevorah assaulted the girls, who are 2 months apart in age, throughout 2010, when they were about 7 years old.The assaults came to light last September when one of the girls, then 11, suffered an emotional breakdown from the burden of carrying the secret, and disclosed what happened.After an investigation, Tamaqua Cpl. Henry Woods filed the charges.According to court documents, neither told anyone about the touching because Trevorah had told them it "was their little secret."Woods spoke to Trevorah, who said, "What I did was wrong and I am going to take responsibility for my actions," according to the documents.District Judge Stephen Bayer of Tamaqua made house arrest and no contact with the girls part of Trevorah's bail conditions.After being sentenced Wednesday, Trevor was taken from the courtroom across the street to Schuylkill County prison. From there, he'll be taken to a state prison."How could you do such terrible things to my daughter and granddaughter," the girls' mother/grandmother said on the witness stand Wednesday."We all loved and trusted you, and for five years you lied to us. You ruined our family, and I can never forgive you," she said. "You hurt them before your stroke, and you continued to hurt them after the stroke. How (could you)? They were only 7 years old."