Ex-Pa. Senate aide gets 6-12 years in sex case

May 30, 2012 at 8:39a.m.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former Pennsylvania legislative aide has been sentenced to 6 to 12 years in state prison for trying to arrange a sexual tryst with a teenage boy.

Authorities say 43-year-old former state Senate aide Alan Berlin of Carlisle exchanged graphic sexual emails with a 15-year-old Harrisburg boy and tried to set up a sexual encounter in 2009.

Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover imposed the penalty Tuesday after Berlin repeated his claim that he didn’t think he was dealing with a minor.

Berlin testified at his jury trial that he’s a “furry,” with a fantasy animal persona. He also testified he never intended to have a physical encounter.

Berlin had served as an aide to a pair of state senators before his May 2009 arrest.