Teen tells judge Derry Township couple's abuse 'ruined my life'

A teen told a Westmoreland County judge that years of physical abuse suffered at the hands of a Derry Township couple will have a lasting impact and left a permanent disfigurement.

“It hurt so bad every day. It ruined my life pretty much, what they did,” the teen, now 16, said during a sentencing hearing for Charles Harr, 55, and Jamie Harr, 53. They pleaded guilty in April to strangulation, aggravated assault, intimidation, child endangerment, obstruction of justice and simple assault.

Prosecutors said the Harrs repeatedly inflicted physical and emotional abuse on the child over a four-year period that ended in September 2023. The abuse included beatings, strangulation and other acts of violence, such as an allegation that they poured hot pepper on the teen’s genitals.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart II ordered Charles Harr to serve nine to 18 years in prison and an additional 18 months of probation. Jamie Harr was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison and two years of probation.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said the abuse inflicted upon the teen is unimaginable. He played in court two recorded telephone calls between Jamie Harr and another relative, which included audio of the child being berated and attacked.

Authorities said the Harrs threatened to kill the child and leave the teen in the woods. Other emotional abuse included removing the child’s glasses for weeks and confining the teen to the house for months, according to prosecutors.

“Both of these two people belong in state prison as long as the law allows,” Lazar said. “There is no sentence this court can give to justify what (the teen) went through.”

Defense attorney Michael DeMatt argued that Charles Harr should receive a mitigated sentence, claiming he too was a victim of his wife’s abuse and his crime was one of omission rather than commission.

DeMatt read a letter from his Charles Harr, asking for his victim’s forgiveness.

Harr’s children from a previous marriage and his ex-wife testified that he had no history of child abuse.

“He’s a docile person. Mr. Harr had some misplaced loyalty to his wife,” DeMatt said.

According to court records, Charles Harr has a criminal record dating to the late 1990s that includes convictions for drunken driving, victim intimidation, theft and furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Jamie Harr’s criminal record included one conviction for providing alcohol to a minor and a misdemeanor fraud case from last year involving federal food assistance.

Assistant Public Defender Sarah Reeb told the judge Jamie Harr has worked to rehabilitate herself since being jailed in early 2024. The lawyer read a letter from Jamie Harr in which she attempted to explain her actions.

“I let my way of thinking and feeling overtake me and it never should have. I will never forgive myself that I let my anger get out of control,” Jamie Harr wrote.