A former Weissport police chief was convicted Thursday evening by a Carbon County jury of all sexual assault offenses filed against him and now faces a potentially long state prison term.

The jury panel deliberated for over three hours before finding Brent Getz, 30, of Lehighton, guilty of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, aggravated assault of a child and indecent assault of a child.

After the verdict was read, presiding Judge Joseph J. Matika revoked Getz’s bail and remanded him to to the county prison.

He was charged by the state Attorney General’s office in March 2019 with raping a young Lehighton area girl at a home Franklin Township. Charged with Getz was Gregory Wagner Jr., 31, of Lehighton, who is a relative of the victim and in whose home the assaults occurred. In November 2020 Wagner pleaded guilty to one count each of rape of a child, and sexual exploitation of children, before Judge Joseph J. Matika. His sentencing has been deferred several times.

It was revealed at the trial that Wagner’s plea agreement with the state called for him to cooperate in the prosecution of Getz and be sentenced to a state prison term of 10 to 20 years. Wagner testified at the trial on Wednesday and has been an inmate in the county prison since his arrest in March 2019.

Getz testified on Thursday and repeatedly denied any involvement in the sexual assault of the girl. Previous testimony by the victim indicated the assaults began when she was 4 with inappropriate touching, then escalating to sexual acts when she was 6 and continued until she was 12 when she told a schoolteacher at Lehighton Middle School. The testimony also indicated that Wagner was assaulting her for several years. Authorities said Getz became involved later and ended a time later but Wagner continued to assault the girl. When asked by defense counsel, Brian Collins, if he sexually assaulted the girl, had any type of inappropriate contact with the girl of any kind, Getz repeatedly answered, “Absolutely not.”

When he was arrested in March 2019 he was on duty as Weissport police chief. He had been chief since January 2019, a period of about three months.

Getz said he went to Wagner’s home to play video games once or twice a week in 2006. That tapered off when the video games developed a remote version where the two could still play, but both at their own homes.

He said he and Wagner were friends from grade school but drifted apart when they reached high school.

He said he associated with Wagner because he felt sorry for him. He said he wanted to make him “be the best he could be.”

When arrested, Getz said he did make a statement, “I’m going to jail. I’m going to jail.”

He said he made the statement after he learned that Wagner had already been arrested and was being committed to the county prison.

He said he spoke to Wagner at the prison later in the day and said to him, “Why are you throwing me under the bus?” He denied saying anything else to Wagner.

Wagner testified that while at the prison Getz told him if he wouldn’t implicate him in the incident he would take care of one of Wagner’s elderly family members.

The AG office, represented by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Anne Elo, called the final prosecution witness Thursday morning.

A former girlfriend of Wanger’s said she was at the Wagner home in July 2018 when she learned of the allegations against Wagner from the victim’s mother. She said she spoke with the victim later in the day and that the girl told her it was not only Wagner that abused her, but Getz was also involved.

She said the girl told her it happened twice with Getz. In prior testimony the girl said it happened “five or six times” with Getz. Other statements she made in various interviews had Getz assaulting her many more times.

The only other witness called by the defense was Dr. Barry Zahireh, a forensic psychologist.

He testified relative to effects of sexual abuse incidents on the victim and whether all victims should be believed entirely, partly or not at all. He cited studies that indicated there is a fine line between believing an alleged victim or not. He said memories are not always accurate when the assaults are reported years later.

He was called to counter an expert witness called by the commonwealth on Wednesday, Dr. Barbara Ziv, who said victims’ memories can be trusted in such instances.

In his closing argument to the jury, Collins told the panel, “There is so much reasonable doubt you must find my client not guilty.”

He said the commonwealth’s case was filled with lies and noted the deal Wagner got with the commonwealth for his testimony against his client saved him from getting a much longer prison term. He estimated Wagner could have gotten 53 to 117 years if all the charges filed against him were run consecutive when sentenced.

Elo told the jury that the system failed the victim. She said eight years of abuse went on because the case was not properly handled by police, the district attorney’s office and her family.

She said the victim was only 4 when the inappropriate touching started and then escalated to sexual assaults on a weekly basis. She said it was not uncommon for such a young child to report incidents piecemeal and as more interviews are conducted the more she begins to remember details.

She also said the story given by co-defendant Wagner never changed throughout the investigation relative to Getz’s involvement.

Case history

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the AG’s office, the investigation began in May 2012 after ChildLine, Children and Youth Services, received a complaint that an 11-year-old child reported that when she was left alone with Wagner, he touched her inappropriately, and the child was afraid.

She also reported years later that she had been repeatedly raped by Wagner and Getz several times a week, starting when she was 4. At the time of the rapes, Getz and Wagner would both have been teenagers.

On May 16, 2012, the victim was interviewed on video by a forensic interviewer. She said that Wagner, on multiple occasions, touched her inappropriately. She also said that he offered her $5 to have sex with him, which she declined, and that he has also shown her pornography on his laptop.

In 2015, the case was reassigned and charges against Wagner were submitted to the district court, but they were unable to be filed due to the charges being invalid. Valid charges were not resubmitted.

In August 2018, a Franklin Township police officer Frank W. Buonaiuto, revisited the case and interviewed the victim. The case eventually was turned over to the AG office.

Matika deferred sentencing since the charges fall under the provisions of Megan’s Law. Getz will have to be evaluated by the state sexual offenders assessment board to determine if he is a violent sexual predator. Sentencing will probably occur in about 90 days.