The young woman stood before the court and described abuse she had endured from the age of 6 at the hands of a youth pastor and food bank volunteer.

Identified as Jane Doe in court, the 20-year-old told the judge that Dominic Muscante used his position as a volunteer at Glassport Assembly of God Church and the Glassport Community Outreach Food Bank to wield power over her and her single mother.

“We lived in poverty,” she said. “He manipulated his way into my life.”

The woman — the second of two victims to speak on Tuesday — told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer that she learned from a very early age that if she did what Muscante wanted, he would provide food and financial support.

“I did what he wanted, was a good little girl and, in return, he provided for my family,” she said. “I either spent time with him and did what he wanted, or we didn’t have food for a week.”

She said she sacrificed herself for her family, and now suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

“I’m a survivor of over a decade of grooming,” she said. “I stand before you as a young woman but also a little girl.”

Muscante, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption of minors on Tuesday for two different victims, admitting that he had inappropriate, sexual conversations with both victims and that he touched them inappropriately. He was charged in February 2021.

As part of the plea agreement, which called for a sentence of probation to be set by the court, five other counts, including indecent assault, child endangerment, unlawful contact with minors and furnishing alcohol to minors, were withdrawn by the prosecution.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Kelly told the court that the plea had been reached in the best interest of the victims and the community.

“I believe this closure for all parties involved is necessary and is made in consideration of their needs and how to best move forward,” he said.

The plea ensures that Muscante gets treatment and that he will be supervised by probation to protect the community, Kelly said.

Although the defense asked for a period of three years of probation or less, Beemer ordered Muscante to serve eight years of probation. He must comply with sex offender court restrictions but is not required to register with the state police under Megan’s Law.

A criminal complaint filed against Muscante said he met both victims, who were members of the church.

The younger victim, who is now 17, told police that Muscante touched her through her clothes, once assaulting her at a church Christmas party and another time in his car as they drove to pick up food from a warehouse.

Police also said Muscante told the teen he would pay her for sex acts once she turned 18 and that he gave her alcohol.

The older victim told police she was abused multiple times.

Both victims told the court they have been unable to form healthy relationships because of the abuse they suffered, and that they are still fearful.

“I have been put through so much, I don’t understand how he should be able to move forward with his life and be able to live like nothing ever happened,” the 17-year-old said. “He has ruined my life.”

She told Beemer that she now takes multiple medications and sees a psychiatrist.

“I’m afraid it will happen again. I’m afraid he’ll find me,” she said.

The 20-year-old woman told the court that she has constant flashbacks and that she can’t get into a car without having panic attacks stemming from having been in his back seat.

“You have changed my life, but you don’t get to ruin it,” she told Muscante.

Defense attorney Tom McKinley told the court that his client has a master’s degree in business administration and had been married for 22 years before his wife died in April 2020. Muscante has no prior criminal record and is currently working at a gas station.

“He hopes to put this behind him and seek employment matching his education,” McKinley said. “I don’t believe you will see him in front of you again.”

When asked if he had anything to say on his own behalf, Muscante declined.

Beemer told the defendant that his request for two or three years of probation would be “wholly inadequate to address the level of trauma that was inflicted.

“They deserve closure. They deserve the right to heal and move forward,” the judge said. “But make no mistake about it, you stole from them something they can never get back.”

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