The case against Brent Robert Getz (30, former Weissport Police Chief) in Carbon County, Pennsylvania has been pending for many years. Police first became aware of the allegations in 2005.
The jury found Getz of Lehighton guilty of the rape charge and one count each for involuntary sexual intercourse with children, aggravated assault of a minor, and indecent attack of a child younger than 12. He was arrested and his bail was immediately revoked.
After his 2019 arrest Getz was fired as Weissport’s police chief. Weissport is a small town with around 400 residents, located 77 miles (124 km) northwest Philadelphia. Brian J. Collins, his lawyer was contacted to provide comment.
Gregory E. Wagner Jr., 31, the codefendant, pleaded guilty in November 2020 to child rape and agreed to testify against Getz. Both men were teenagers at the time of the abuse and are awaiting sentencing.
According to Getz’s 2019 arrest affidavit the victim said that Wagner had raped and abused her in 2012.
The Carbon County child welfare office was involved and the victim was interviewed in Scranton by a child advocacy centre. The child’s accounts and symptoms were consistent with sexual abuse, according to a nurse.
Leslie Slingsby is the executive director of Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center East Norriton. This organization helps to respond to child abuse allegations.
Slingsby stated that these cases are heartbreaking because it took this child so much time to get justice and for the child to ensure their safety, which is important for all children in the community.
Pennsylvania made drastic changes to its child sexual abuse case handling in the wake the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scam.Slingsby stated, “But it seems like this should’ve been resolved before that.”
According to the affidavit, Wagner spoke with a Franklin Township officer in May 2012. Wagner ended the interview after only a few minutes, and he obtained a lawyer.
The affidavit stated that Wagner was again interrogated by the same officer in June 2013. This time, he had his lawyer present. Wagner denied the allegations, and no charges were brought against him.
The victim recorded a short cellphone video of Wagner watching pornography. This was “a few months after Wagner’s initial complaint was filed against her,” Sean McGlinn (an agent with the Pennsylvania attorney General’s office) wrote in Getz’s arrest affidavit.
A criminal complaint against Wagner was filed three years later in 2015. However, the district judge dismissed it because of what Wagner’s attorney general described as a paper error.
In 2018, a Franklin Township officer “reexamined” the case. The victim disclosed that Getz, a friend and colleague of Wagner, had also sexually assaulted the victim. The attorney general’s office has stated.
According to the arrest affidavit, she claimed that both men had sexually assaulted and assaulted her hundreds of time, several times per week, for approximately seven years.
Jason Doll, Franklin Township Police Chief, declined to comment and referred questions to state prosecutors.
According to the charging affidavit, the Carbon County District Attorney’s Office referred the matter to Getz’s attorney general in September 2018. Wagner was referred to Getz’s attorney general’s office in January 2019. Wagner admitted to the sexual assault of the child in March 2019, and Getz was also implicated.
