Fayette sex offender's life sentence overturned

A Mill Run man who was sentenced to life in prison as a repeat sex offender had his sentence overturned by a panel of Superior Court judges, but he still faces a mandatory resentencing of 25 years in prison.

Senior Judge Gerald Solomon sentenced Richard Glenn Bowers, 73, to life in prison in 2012 following his conviction on an indecent assault charge on a girl.

The girl testified she was between 3 and 7 years old when Bowers had sexual intercourse with her on at least 15 occasions in his garage and a nearby wooded area between 2006 and 2008.

The life sentence was based on Pennsylvania's three strikes rule, according to the panel's opinion, which was posted online on Wednesday.

Bowers in 1985 was sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting three girls, ages 8, 12 and 12, on multiple occasions. The sentences were imposed consecutively at a single hearing, the Superior Court judges found.

Citing case law, the judges found that for the state's three strikes law to apply, the 1985 sentences would have had to have been imposed separately. Otherwise, they count as just one conviction toward the three strikes law.

The judges vacated Bowers' life sentence and remanded the case to Fayette County for resentencing. They noted the minimum mandatory sentence Bowers now faces is 25 years. A new sentencing date has not yet been set.