Altoona man sentenced for sexually assaulting child in Kingston Township

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·1 min read

Feb. 9—WILKES-BARRE — A Blair County man accused of sexually and physically abusing a boy for two years when he lived in Kingston Township was sentenced in Luzerne County Court Wednesday.

Cota Shawnraie Bigelow, 33, of Altoona, was arrested by Kingston Township police after receiving a report of suspected child abuse in September 2021. The child was questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children's Advocacy Center in Wilkes-Barre where he said Bigelow forced him to perform lewd sex acts in 2015 and 2016, according to court records.

Assistant District Attorney Carly Hislop said the boy was 5 when the assaults began.

Bigelow would babysit the boy when the child's mother was at work. The child claimed Bigelow forced him three times into lewd sex acts inside a residence on Highland Avenue in Trucksville, court records say.

When the child refused, Bigelow would hurt and withhold food from the child, according to court records.

Judge David W. Lupas sentenced Bigelow to four-to-eight years in state prison on three counts of indecent assault and a single count of corruption of minors. He pled guilty to the charges Nov. 15.

Despite an evaluation of Bigelow by the state's Sexual Offender Assessment Board not finding he met the criteria as a sexually violent predator, Hislop said he displayed "predatory" behavior as there were three sexual assaults.

Bigelow is subject to lifetime registration as a sexual offender under the state's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.