Mark E. Olinger

A New Castle man was sentenced to serve up to 13 years in prison Friday, Sept. 1, after pleading guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court to sexually assaulting a girl on the eve of her eighth birthday in 2021.

Mark Edward Olinger Jr., 34, was sentenced to 72 to 156 months in state prison followed by 36 months of probation, and ordered to report to state police for the rest of his life after being found to be a Tier 3 sexual offender under Megan’s Law.

In a plea agreement, Olinger plead guilty to a felony charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse that was filed by Butler city police following the July 9, 2021, assault. He was initially charged with statutory sexual assault, rape of a child and two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Struggling to read a victim impact statement through tears, the victim’s mother said the assault, which took place at night on the day before the girl turned 8, has had lasting impacts on the girl and her two other children.

“She spent the night before her eighth birthday on the way to the hospital for a rape kit,” the victim’s mother said. She said the girl won’t talk about what happened that night.

She said her son has been acting out since then and surveillance cameras have been installed throughout her home so she can watch him. Her other daughter, who saw the assault and immediately told her about it, has nightmares and anxiety. All three of her children are taking medication and receiving counseling, she said.

Judge Kelley Streib imposed the sentence.