Former CHS wrestler Andrew Long sentenced

BELLEFONTE — The assault victim of former Creston graduate and Penn State wrestler Andrew Long is the reason he’ll spend the next year in the county jail, not a state prison.

Long, 23, a former three-time state wrestling champion at Creston High School, received his sentence Aug. 30 from Judge Bradley P. Lunsford for the attempted rape last year of a woman.

Long pleaded guilty this past June to felony aggravated indecent assault, and the District Attorney’s Office withdrew the most severe count, felony attempted rape.

He’ll serve a year to two years and then five years of probation after he’s released from the Centre County Correctional Facility. He was handcuffed in court immediately after he was sentenced and taken to the jail.

The victim, a Penn State student’s mother, didn’t want Long to go to a state prison, said Stacy Parks Miller, the district attorney. That’s what spared him from serving jail in a state prison.

“We felt a felony conviction and jail sentence was appropriate under the circumstances,” Parks Miller said.

The victim didn’t speak during the sentencing hearing, but she gave the judge a statement, which was not read.

Long offered an apology to her.

“My prayer is that you find healing and forgiveness for what I inflicted on your family,” he said.

State College police said Long got in bed with the woman, who was sleeping, took off her underwear and touched her. The woman had been helping her son move into his apartment and spent the night in the apartment.

Long’s attorney, Tony DeBoef, said his client was drunk and does not remember the incident.

Long left the wrestling team shortly after he was arrested. He returned to his home state of Iowa, where he has been in a treatment program for alcohol abuse, DeBoef told the judge.

In February, though, Long had another run-in with police in Ames, Iowa. Long served 10 days in jail and was serving a year of probation for assaulting a police officer.

Because of the aggravated indecent assault conviction here, Long will have to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender, under Megan’s Law. But he was not found to be a sexually violent predator.

Long can’t slip up for the next seven years as part of the plea agreement. He’s not allowed to drink during that time or he will have violated the probation agreement.