Ex-Lower Burrell man faces prison for assault
GREENSBURG: A former Lower Burrell man accused of molesting children, including in Burrell Lake Park where he was employed, pleaded guilty to sex charges Monday before Westmoreland County Judge John Blahovec.
David E. Krider, 63, of Victoria Avenue, Arnold, formerly of Delberta Road, Lower Burrell, pleaded guilty but mentally incompetent to charges of sexually assaulting three young children - two girls and a boy - from 1991 to 1999.
Blahovec sentenced Krider to 3Ý to seven years in a state prison and an additional five years of probation.
He was designated a sexually violent predator.
He was a caretaker at Burrell Lake Park in July 1997 until his arrest in 1999, said Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Patricia Elliott.
'This is not a grandpa figure,' Elliott said. 'He preyed upon the trusting nature of the parents and the children. He groomed that trust. He told the therapist he loved (a girl victim), wanted to marry her and take care of her.'
Krider's bond was revoked in October when WPXI-Channel 11 caught Krider on videotape walking into a restaurant with a child. Part of his bond condition was having no contact with children, Elliott said.
He pleaded guilty Nov. 27 but his plea wasn't accepted until Monday because he didn't have medical testimony in November to back his claim of being mentally incompetent. After hearing testimony, Blahovec accepted the plea Monday.
In being designated as a sexual predator under Megan's Law, Krider must:
If he fails to register his address within the required 10 days any time he moves, he faces a possible sentence of life imprisonment.
Blahovec could have put Krider in a facility for the mentally ill due to his plea.
Instead, Krider will go through the classification process that any prisoner does and then the state Department of Corrections will decide if he serves his sentence in prison or in a forensic facility within the state prison system, Elliott said.
All of the victims are scarred by the molestation, Elliott said.
The boy and his family moved to Florida and is receiving counseling. One of the girls is in a group home for depression and behavioral problems, Elliott said. The girl's problems were worsened by the sexual abuse, she said.
The third girl received counseling.
Elliott knows some family members weren't happy with the mentally incompetent ruling, but Krider said he would go for a jury trial if that wasn't part of the plea agreement. A jury trial could include the children being required to testify.
Here is a synopsis of the charges against Krider:
The girl on occasion stayed at Krider's home because he was like a grandfather figure to her, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Krider also molested the girl several times at Burrell Lake Park and once at Northmoreland Park, an affidavit said.
For this case he is charged with two counts of involuntary sexual deviate intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors.
In the second case, Krider assaulted a boy, then 11, from June 1997 through September 1997 at Krider's house in Burrell Lake Park.
For this case Krider was charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of corruption of minors.
In the last case, Krider sexually assaulted a girl from July 1998, when she was 11, to May 1999.
He was charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of corruption of minors.
Tricia Ritchie can be reached at tritchie@tribweb.com .
