Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Joseph Lipinsky

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child less than 16 years of age, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors.

Reported by: Kent Morlan

Joseph Lipinsky, of Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, befriended the victim’s family when she was a young child. He quickly became close, not only to her parents, but also to the victim and her sibling. That close relationship and the trust he carefully cultivated with the family created opportunities for him to be alone with victim when she reached her early teen years, resulting in sexual contact when the victim was 14 years of age and Lipinsky was 43 years of age. He continued to keep her close in the years that followed, creating an environment that kept his crimes from coming to light. The victim, who did not fully understand what happened to her at that time, disclosed the assault for the first time in adulthood. At sentencing, she provided an eloquent statement detailing how carrying the defendant’s secret for over a decade compounded the trauma for her. It resulted in impact to every relationship in her life and permanently altered the trajectory of her life. She has shown enormous strength in coming forward and speaking out about the abuse the Lipinsky subjected her to when she was a young teen.

The delay of disclosure seen in this case is not uncommon. It is often the result of carefully executed grooming by the abuser. Victims of child sexual abuse typically do not disclose until years after the abuse occurred. The Department of Justice reports that 86% of child sexual abuse is not reported until the child reaches adulthood. Even then, studies show that only 10 to 15% of all child sexual abuse is ever reported to authorities. While the delay of disclosure presents complications in prosecution, this case highlights that justice is available, even 15 years after the incident occurred.

The Defendant pleaded guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child less than 16 years of age, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minor and was sentenced to 3 1/2 to no more than 7 years in prison.