Williamsport, Pa. — A man accused of assaulting children reportedly told evaluators he only confessed to the crimes so his plea deal would be accepted.
The revelation influenced Judge Ryan Gardner’s decision on Wednesday, July 29, to reject the deal and place Austin Tyler McKeon, 22, on the trial list for November.
“I don’t think he appreciates the seriousness of his crimes,” Gardner said.
Along with his admission, McKeon told the person several lies during the evaluation of whether he should be labeled a sexually violent predator.
McKeon claimed he didn’t know the victim was a minor until his arraignment. McKeon said the victim stole alcohol from Sheetz, despite surveillance video showing him go into Sheetz and purchase it. He deflected blame for an assault by calling the victim names.
“I have a daughter and this could happen to her,” Gardner said. McKeon deflected blame, victim-shamed, and never took accountability, Gardner added.
McKeon will face a slew of charges over two cases that involve sexual exploitation and assault of children. As part of the deal with prosecutors McKeon would have pleaded guilty to indecent assault of a person less than 16, corruption of minors, and child pornography.
The deal included a sentence for McKeon was up to 22 months in county jail, three years supervision after release, and a 25-year SORNA registration.
If convicted of his current charges, McKeon would face a minimum of 2 years and six months in state prison.
The victim said she was embarrassed and felt exposed in a letter read by Gardner. She asked the court to consider accountability, and said what McKeon did was a violation.
Despite telling evaluators he didn’t know the age of his victim, an investigation into the 2024 crimes proved otherwise. McKeon told the victim he “didn’t mind” her age after she disclosed it during a game of spin of the bottle. He claimed there was nothing sexual about the game.
A few days later, McKeon allegedly assaulted the victim a second time, isolating her inside his car before grabbing her genitals. Surveillance video from the store verified the victim’s story.
In a third assault, McKeon strangled a minor before going into a movie theatre. He grabbed the girl by the throat and kissed her. After the assault McKeon made the teenager watch a movie because he had already paid for tickets. She left with a friend who noticed her in the theatre.
McKeon will now face 19 counts over two cases with charges that include unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 16, strangulation, photographing a sex act with a child, dissemination of child pornography, child pornography, and sexual abuse of a minor.
McKeon, who was out on $50,000 unsecured bail, was incarcerated in April after that bail was revoked. A motion by attorney Andrea Pulizzi for modification of his release that included taking off an electric monitoring system was rejected by Gardner in March.
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