May 10, 2017- Commonwealth v. Richard Allen Gingrich: Richard Allen Gingrich was sentenced this morning to 3 years to 10 years in a state prison with a consecutive 10 years of probation by Dauphin County Judge John F. Cherry.  On December 5, 2016, Gingrich pleaded no contest to his charges moments before jury selection in the case was set to begin in his case.   His sentence was pursuant to plea agreement reached moments before the trial began.  Judge Cherry commented at sentencing that the agreement, approved by the victim, spared the victim from having to relive his abuse while on thew witness stand.  When sentencing Gingrich, Judge Cherry told Gingrich, "You stole the childhood of this victim.  It was stolen and it can never be returned." 

Gingrich molested a former Milton Hershey School student over a period of years while the student was in Grades 6 through 9.  The former student, now 27 years old, told police that Gingrich molested him numerous times between the ages of 11 years to 15 years old.  He first met Gingrich when Gingrich became the student's assistant coach on the Milton Hershey Middle School ice hockey team.  He described the assaults as occurring at various locations over the years including a bathroom attached to the locker room at the school's ice hockey rink in Hershey, at Gingrich's apartments in Lebanon and Palmyra and in a school supply building.  He reported that Gingrich continued to sexually assault him even after Gingrich was dismissed from the school during the student's freshman year in high school.  This case was prosecuted on behalf of the Commonwealth by Chief Deputy District Attorney Seán McCormack.  Former Derry Township Detective Dave Melhorn investigated the case.