Ty M. Levy, a Richmond, Va., schoolteacher, was resentenced to a minimum of 13 months in state prison Tuesday for child sex offenses.
A June 22 ruling found Levy, 49, guilty on eight counts relating to an online relationship he conducted over Skype with a then 15-year-old South Williamsport girl from Sept. 2009 through Feb. 2010.
Anderson had sentenced Levy on Oct. 10 to time served and six years of probation to be served in Virginia. District Attorney Eric R. Linhardt, however, submitted a motion to reconsider, saying the sentence depreciated the nature of the crime. Anderson vacated his initial sentence on Nov. 1.
Levy, a former fifth-grade teacher, was arrested at his home on June 23, 2011, on a South Williamsport police warrant and has been incarcerated at the Lycoming County Prison since. He met the victim once in person at a local cafe while traveling through the area over the Christmas 2009 holiday.
Lycoming County Judge Dudley N. Anderson ruled "it is the intention of this court to sentence (Levy) to an aggregate incarceration of 30 months to 10 years." He recommended that the "defendant be placed in a facility where he can benefit from any sexual crime interdiction available through the state system." Anderson credited Levy with 17 months of time served since his arrest.
Linhardt said Tuesday that it is "important (Levy) undergo treatment and counseling before he gets the possibility of parole." He requested the judge hand down an "appropriate sentence within the guidelines" of up to 12 years by sentencing Levy consecutively for the two counts of sexual abuse of children, four counts of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of possessing obscene materials and one count of corruption of minors. The prosecutor argued that online sex crimes are more dangerous to children because they "don't know who they're dealing with ... that's why it warrants separate and distinct punishment."
Levy's mother, wife, and neighbor, Holly Markhoff, made sworn statements on Levy's behalf. Markhoff said she lived next door to Levy for six years and that she has "no concerns about him coming home - my 15-year-old daughter has said enough is enough ... What's happened is horrible. The loss is great in so many ways."
Levy's wife, Ruth, said that she has researched counselors near her home and she had a plan for Levy's employment if he could return home.
Anderson said that the petition for reconsideration "resonated" with him because the "county facility has no capacity for any sort of interdiction." Since any ruling returning Levy to Virginia would eliminate the county's jurisdiction, the judge said he must "do whatever I can to make sure (Levy) is afforded any program Pennsylvania can offer him."
Defense attorney Kyle Rude argued that on "any hint of a violation (Levy) can be resentenced."
Before sentencing, Levy addressed the victim and her family, saying, "I know I can't do a lot of things anymore - that's my fault. There's no excuse for what I did. I'm sorry ... I don't know what else to do."
