January 8, 2015-  Dauphin County Judge Todd A. Hoover today classified Harry Szekeres, 59, as a Sexually Violent Predator.  Immediately after declaring Szekeres a sexually violent predator, Judge Hoover sentenced Szekeres to 16 years to 32 years in state prison.  Chief Deputy District Attorney Seán M. McCormack stated, "We are very pleased with Judge Hoover's sentence in this case.  It seems to me that Judge Hoover set Mr. Szekeres' minimum sentence at approximately one year in prison for each year Szekeres sexually abuse the victim.  While no amount of jail time will repair the damage Mr. Szekeres did to his victim, at the very least every year he serves will be a  symbolic reminder to him of each year of abuse he put his victim through."  

In October, 2014, a Dauphin County jury found Szekeres guilty on all 33 counts of child sexual molestation.   The jury's verdict came at the conclusion of a very emotional three day trial in Dauphin County.  The jury heard the emotional testimony of Szekeres’ victim.  Fighting through tears, the former Middletown resident detailed for the jury her years of abuse at the hands of Harry Szekeres (59).  She described how as a 6 year old child Szekeres came at night into the room where she was sleeping and began putting his hands on her.  That was the beginning of 14 years of repeated sexual abuse.  At one point, as her emotions overcame her, she told the jury “I didn’t think this would be so hard.”

The victim described for the jury falling into years of alcohol and drug abuse as she tried to cope with the abuse before she was finally able to get her life together.  She eventually left Dauphin County and moved to the country of Nepal where she currently lives with her husband and children. She explained that although she finally felt safe being away from Szekeres, her constant fear that Szekeres had access to other children finally gave her the strength to contact authorities in Dauphin County to report the 14 years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Szekeres.

During the October trial Dauphin County Detective Andrew Dixon played for the jury a recording of a phone call between the victim and Szekeres.  During that 20 minute phone call, an emotional Szekeres can be heard repeatedly apologizing to his victim for molesting her and begging for her forgiveness.   At one point on the recording, after the victim asked Szekeres if he understood the impact of what he did to her by sexually abusing her for years, he responded “...it was wrong, I know it was wrong but I’m not a bad person…  it was a huge mistake, if I could take it back, I would take it back a hundred thousand fold, I cannot take it back, I cannot take it back.”   Unbeknownst to Szekeres, the call, which was made by the victim from Nepal, was being monitored and recorded by Det. Dixon here in Dauphin County.   

Chief Deputy District Attorney Seán McCormack further described the case as emotionally challenging for him.  "As a prosecutor, to have to question a victim, who is obviously going through emotional pain while testifying, to keep reliving her abuse is one of the most difficult parts of this job."