A Hempfield man was ordered to serve up to four years in prison for the sexual assaults of three teens.
Joshua Esteban Kunkle, 21, pleaded guilty in April to a reduced set of charges in connection with attacks against three juveniles over a four-year period that ended in 2020.
Westmoreland County prosecutors initially filed 23 criminal offenses against Kunkle, including multiple charges of rape, but allowed him to plead guilty to just four counts including two sexual assaults and misdemeanor indecent assault and simple assault.
The remaining 19 charges were dismissed.
Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio acknowledged that Kunkle accepted responsibility for his actions when she imposed the two- to four-year prison sentence. She also ordered Kunkle to serve seven years on probation.
“I am sorry it had gotten to this point and I want to be there with my family,” Kunkle said.
Investigators said the first victim who came forward claimed she was physically, emotionally and sexually assaulted after she started dating Kunkle in 2016.
According to court records, a second teen claimed she attempted to fight to get away from Kunkle during their encounters in which she said she was sexually assaulted multiple times.
A third teen claimed she was sexually assaulted during her relationship with Kunkle during 2019 and into 2020, police said.
None of the victims attended Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.
When the plea deal was finalized earlier this spring, District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said the agreement enabled Kunkle’s victims to avoid testifying in court and assured that he would receive a substantial prison sentence for his actions.
Defense attorney Tim Miller on Tuesday argued for a sentence that allowed Kunkle to eventually return to life with his family, which includes a young son.
“His plea and sentence gives him an opportunity to learn from what occurred and an opportunity to have a life after this is over,” Miller said.
