Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A 34-year-old man who molested a girl repeatedly will serve 10 to 20 years in state lockup.
Eric Joseph Derr, a Falls Township resident, was sentenced after pleading guilty in January to charges including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and unlawful sexual contact with a child, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. In addition, Derr pleaded guilty to an additional charge of child pornography Wednesday.
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Judge Wallace H. Bateman called the case “particularly troubling” and ordered Derr to 14 years probation. He is also to have no contact with the victim, who is now 13.
As part of his sentence, he will have to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.
“I’ll never be able to express how sorry I am,” said Derr, an Army veteran who held a supervisory position with a supermarket chain. “I will never stop hating myself for what I have done.”
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According to authorities, Derr molested a young girl starting when she was 5 or 6 years old and continued for several years at homes in Levittown.
After Derr’s arrest, detectives uncovered 800 images of child pornography on Derr’s computer.
The girl’s mother reported the molestation to Falls police last year. Detectives launched an investigation and arrested Derr within days.
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“The only thing I knew was that I would never let him hurt her again,” the girl’s mother said in court.
