A former Carbon County police chief will be spending at least the next 16 years in a state correctional institution after being sentenced yesterday on sexual assault charges by county Judge Joseph J. Matika.

Brent Getz, 30, of Lehighton, was found guilty of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, aggravated assault of a child and indecent assault of a child by a jury on March 10 following a trial. He at one time served as police chief in Weissport being appointed in January 2019.

The jail term will be followed by three years of state probation. He must also register for the rest of his life as a sexual offender.

In pronouncing the sentence, Matika said eventually Getz may complete is minimum and be paroled, but the victim must live with what happened to her for the rest of her life.

Matika said he considered all the information provided to him by both sides, read a presentence investigation report by the adult probation office and the materials submitted by the opposing sides in deciding his sentence.

Prior to the sentence being imposed defense counsel, Attorney Brian J. Collins, asked the court to consider a sentence in the mitigated range noting the “exemplary” record of Getz in the community when he served as a police officer and helped at other community functions. He also argued that Getz was under 18 at the time of some of the acts and just 18, saying he was still young.

He asked for a minimum term of five years.

Asked by Matika if Getz had anything to say, Collins said his client declines to make a statement at the present time.

However, Deputy Attorney General Rebecca A. Elo, who prosecuted the case, presented testimony that Getz’s performance as a police officer was far from exemplary. She said he worked for six different police departments. He left five prior to being fired and was fired by the sixth for his conduct.

She also noted his attitude in the case and what he told the adult probation officer in the presentence report that he was “just better than anyone else.” She said the picture he paints of himself is “just not reality.” He has not taken responsibility for his actions, she noted.

He was charged by the state Attorney General’s office in March 2019 with raping a young Lehighton area girl at a home in 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 Matika.

On April 28, Wagner was sentenced by Matika to serve 10 to 20 years in a state prison, which was part of a plea deal he made with the AG’s office in return for him testifying at Getz’s trial.

Getz has been in the prison since his conviction. After the verdict was read, Matika revoked his bail and remanded him to the county prison. However, he was later transferred to the Lehigh County prison to await sentencing.

At the trial Getz repeatedly denied that he ever sexually assaulted the victim.

Testimony by the victim at the trial 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.

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.

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

In addition to the prison term Matika ordered Getz to submit to a sexual offenders evaluation, get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, have no contact with the victim or her family while under supervision, have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, supply a DNA sample, make restitution to the victim’s assistance board for $1,189.65 and pay court costs of over $1,000.

On the charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a term of 10 to 20 years was imposed; the charge of rape of a child a term of 6 to 12 years was imposed, consecutive to the first count; on a charge of indecent assault a term of 1 to 2 years was imposed concurrent with the other counts. Matika ruled a charge of aggravated indecent assault merges with the rape of a child charge for sentencing purposes.

He was given credit for 196 days served in jail to date.