A former State College psychologist has been sentenced to decades in state prison after being convicted of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a child over an eight-year period.
Centre County Judge Julia Rater on Wednesday sentenced Richard S. Lenhart, 63, to a prison term of 20 to 40 years. The sentencing came after a three-day trial in August, when a jury found Lenhart guilty on all charges, including felony counts of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.
“Thanks to the bravery of this victim to come forward and face her abuser, the defendant will spend years in prison for sexually assaulting her,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement. “The defendant abused his position of trust to groom and abuse the victim from a young age. My office will continue to make sure that anyone who harms children will be prosecuted and held accountable.”
The victim, now an adult, testified that Lenhart began inappropriate and grooming behavior with her at a young age. He first raped her, she said, in 2005, when she was 8 years old, and continued to rape and sexually assault her through 2013 at a home and other locations in the State College area.
She reported Lenhart to state investigators in 2019 after years of counseling, and he was charged in 2021. Lenhart denied wrongdoing and claimed the woman fabricated the allegations.
Lenhart previously spent time in prison for a separate sexual assault case.
He was first arrested in 2014 on charges that he used his practice to sexually assault two patients and submitted fraudulent insurance claims. He pleaded no contest in 2015 to two counts each of of misdemeanor indecent assault and insurance fraud and subsequently served a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.
His license to practice psychology was revoked in 2013 following misconduct allegations that led to the initial criminal charges.
