Hempfield man pleads guilty to raping girls, faces up to 12 years in prison
A Hempfield man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that he had sex with two young girls.
Police said Kilian A. Thomas was 20 when he met the girls, ages 13 and 11, through social media in late 2019 and arranged multiple encounters in which they had sex in his vehicle.
Now 22, Thomas pleaded guilty to felony charges of rape of a child and statutory sexual assault. Westmoreland County prosecutors dismissed multiple counts of the same offenses as part of the plea deal.
Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said the deal calls for Thomas to receive a six-to-12-year prison sentence and three years on probation. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger will sentence Thomas after an evaluation is completed by the state’s sex offender board to determine if he is a sexually violent predator.
Thomas told the judge it was in his best interest to plead guilty.
Defense attorney Tim Dawson said there was a likelihood Thomas would be convicted at a trial.
“There is DNA evidence and, because there will be testimony from the young girls, I believe my client will enter a guilty plea,” Dawson told the judge.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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