Central Pa. man gets years in state prison for possession of child sexual abuse material
A central Pennsylvania man was sentenced Tuesday to at least two years in state prison after investigators found photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on his devices.
Bradley T. Sprankle, 34, of Blair County, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Katie Oliver to a maximum of four years in prison. He received credit for more than nine months served in the Centre County Correctional Facility.
Sprankle, who worked at a landscaping company in the Bellefonte area, must also register as a sex offender for 15 years. He declined an opportunity to speak before his sentence was handed down.
“Sexual abuse of children is a serious offense. Though the victimized children may be faceless and nameless to us, these are not victimless crimes,” Senior Deputy Attorney General David J. Drumheller wrote in a memo to Oliver. “It is offenders, like the defendant, who seek out these images of child sexual abuse for their own sexual gratification that drive the online marketplace of child sexual abuse. Each and every time their images are downloaded, shared, or used for an individual’s own sexual gratification those children are re-victimized.”
Investigators wrote in an affidavit of probable cause filed in September that they found 14 files of child sexual abuse material on Spankle’s devices, 11 of which showed children engaged in indecent contact.
He pleaded guilty in February to five felony counts of sexual abuse of children. The remaining charges were dropped.
In his memo to the judge, Drumheller wrote that Sprankle cooperated with law enforcement but that he also was previously convicted for statutory sexual assault in Blair County.
Centre County Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Vanier said Sprankle has used his time at the county jail “extremely productively.” He’s participated in 30 classes, completed a mental health education program and has not had any reported misconduct.
Oliver said it is “always a very positive sign” when someone uses their time in jail productively, but rejected his request for a mitigated sentence.
Sprankle is set to head to Camp Hill state prison, where all men entering the state prison system first go to be evaluated before being assigned to a specific prison.
