Pa. man, 71, gets life sentence for molesting girl

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A 71-year-old southwestern Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life in prison for fondling a young girl because he had a prior rape conviction.

Richard Glenn Bowers, of Mill Run, was sentenced Thursday by Fayette County Judge Gerald Solomon on a charge of indecent assault.

Bowers had also been charged with raping the girl, who is now 10, repeatedly from June 2006 to June 2008. He was acquitted of the rape charges.

But because Bowers had been convicted of rape in 1985 and the new crime involved a minor child protected under the state’s Megan’s Law statute, Bowers faced a minimum sentence of 25 to 50 years and a maximum of life. A member of the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board says Bowers is pedophile.

Bowers’ defense attorney says he will appeal.