Courtroom gavel

Matthew Joseph Zeigler, a man accused of systematically abusing his eight children between 1994 and 2020, will be released from prison after receiving credit for time served, specially appointed Dauphin County Senior Judge Richard A. Lewis ruled Tuesday afternoon.

In exchange for pleading guilty to five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Zeigler was sentenced to 1,137 days in prison, however that prison term was maxed out by the time served, meaning that Zeigler is now a free man.

Zeigler originally faced eight counts, each representing one of the children abused. Three of those counts were withdrawn, however defense attorney Ronald McGlaughlin asked that the children those counts represented be added to the remaining five in order to convey Zeigler’s abuse of them all.

The ages of the abused children ranged from 6 to 18, according to Joseph Sembrot, senior deputy attorney general for the state, who said Zeigler abused the children both emotionally and physically in their home at the time, 2335 Northway Road Extension, Hepburn Township.

Zeigler engaged in a course of conduct that endangered the wellbeing of the children, Sembrot said.

The abuse included forcing the children to stand with their arms outstretched for long periods of time, excessive spankings with both his hand and a belt, and locking them in closets, all as forms of punishment.

The children were also denied food and water, and at times forced to drink vinegar, sometimes to the point that it induced vomiting, Sembrot said.

Two of the children offered victim impact statements during the hearing. One of them, speaking from a motorized wheelchair, indicated that Zeigler had hit him in the chest.

A second child stated that, instead of being there for them to trust and confide in, Zeigler took her faith and twisted it to meet his own sick agenda, she said.

She now has a loving, supportive family, she said.

“You are not my father, you’re not God, and you do not own me or my thoughts anymore,” she said. “I forgive you, but you will never, ever be in my life again. You forfeited your right to call me your daughter.”

Speaking before the sentence was handed down, Zeigler expressed sorrow for his actions, noting that the victim impact statements made his apology “seem so small,” while thanking her for her forgiveness.

Calling the abuse “unspeakable,” Zeigler said that despite reading over the affidavit “hundreds of times” and being about to understand his thought process at the time, he still finds his behavior hard to believe.

Zeigler then turned to the victims in attendance and apologized to each one by name, including those not present.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and the words spoken by the young lady are some of the most powerful I’ve ever heard,” Lewis said, referring to her statement as “highly emotional” and “heartbreaking.”

“It shows her bravery and strength of character,” the judge said, stressing that the words needed to be spoken and heard in open court.

In addition to the time served, Zeigler was also sentenced to 60 months probation and ordered to pay a $6,500 fine.

The probation order includes a no-contact provision, prohibiting Zeigler from contacting the victims by any means, including through a third party.

Asked if contact would be allowed should any of the victims choose to speak to him, Zeigler was instructed that it must be once they’ve reached adulthood, and even then only if it was of their own voluntary will.