Former Fayette man sentenced for assault
A former Fayette County man was sentenced to three years, four months to seven and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman between 1994 and 1999. Charles Fuller Sr., 35, was living in Oklahoma when he was arrested for abusing the now-21-year-old victim. The woman, who was present in court for Fuller’s sentencing, opted not to say anything during the hearing.
The victim was living with Fuller and his family at their Dawson home at various points from 1994 through 1999 when he abused her.
Jurors in September convicted Fuller of aggravated indecent assault after May 30, 1995, but acquitted him of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and a second count of aggravated indecent assault, both before the May 1995 date.
The significance of the date marks changes in the state’s sexual assault laws.
That same jury panel could not decide if Fuller was guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse after May 30, 1995. Prosecutors still have the option to retry Fuller on that count.
Before Judge Ralph C. Warman sentenced Fuller, he addressed the court, apologizing to the victim and his family.
“I am sorry about putting them all through this,” said Fuller. “I am not going through all this alone, my children are going through it, too. I’m sorry to them, too.”
Although he underwent a sexual offender assessment, Fuller was not deemed to be a sexually violent predator under state guidelines. However, once he is released from prison, Fuller will have to comply with a lifetime of address notification to police.
Failure to register a new address with police – in or out of Pennsylvania – within 10 days is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, said Warman.
The judge also ordered Fuller to comply with the DNA Detection of Sexual and Violent Offenders Act, which means he will have to give a sample of his DNA to prison officials. That DNA will then be banked and his genetic code will be registered for comparison. Fuller, said Warman, will have to pay the mandatory $250 cost for that.
Additionally, Warman ordered Fuller to provide the state police with his photo and fingerprints after his release from prison.
The September trial during which Fuller was convicted and acquitted of some charges was his third in the case.
In June, a judge declared a mistrial after information about his arrest in Oklahoma on other charges came in during testimony. The judge ruled the information could possibly have prejudiced jurors.
Then, in August, jurors heard all the testimony in the case and could not reach a verdict. Fuller will serve his sentence in a state prison, but will be first sent to the Western Diagnostic Classification Center in Pittsburgh to determine the facility in which he will serve his time.