Man pleads no contest to 20 felonies, including child rape

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    Lancaster County (WPMT) — A Lancaster County man pleaded no contest Thursday in Lancaster County Court to years of sexual abuse against four juveniles, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said.

By pleading no contest to 20 felonies, including rape of a child and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, David Stoltzfus Smucker, 75, does not admit guilt, the DA’s office said. But by making the plea, Smucker concedes there is ample evidence for a conviction.

A no contest plea has the same legal ramifications as a guilty plea, according to the DA.

Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick said Smucker told the victims to keep the contact “secret.” He read aloud the many different acts Smucker forced the children to perform, the DA’s office said.

The abuse occurred between 2014 and 2018 at Smucker’s Smoketown School Road home, and at other locations. The abuse was reported to Lancaster County Children and Youth last year, according to the DA.

Lancaster County President Judge Dennis Reinaker accepted the plea, and will order sentence after a background investigation is completed in a few months, the DA said.

Haverstick said he will present testimony at sentencing about “extraordinary impact” these acts had on the victims and community.

Four counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child were dropped as part of the plea, the DA said.

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