A Beaver Meadows man who sexually assaulted a teenage girl as she slept in his bed will serve 3 to 23 months in Carbon County prison.

Richard Joseph Welsh,

23, now of Freeland, on June 8 admitted to a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault.

Carbon County Judge Joseph J. Matika in exchange dropped two felony charges of aggravated indecent assault without consent and corruption of minors.

Hazleton State Trooper Kenneth L. Santos said Welsh, who was considered to be like an uncle to the 17-year-old girl, admitted to touching her on Sept. 7, 2021. The girl then told her mother what happened,

Judge Matika sentenced Welsh to jail time, and gave him credit for 365 days he had already served.

Welsh will undergo sexual offender, mental health, and drug and alcohol evaluations. Judge Matika ordered him to stay away from the victim, and to comply with the requirements of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, which is Pennsylvania’s version of Megan’s Law.

But that wasn’t the end of Welsh’s transgressions.

On Feb. 8, Kidder Township patrolman Christopher T. Ritter charged him with defiant trespass and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Judge Matika accepted Welsh’s admission to the trespass charge, and sentenced him to a year on probation, and to pay a $100 liveScan fee and a $50 monthly supervision fee. Welsh also has to do 50 hours of community service work and stay off the Pocono Resort Convention Center’s property.