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Man Gets Prison Term for Lewdness: Plea Deal Takes Man to Facility Outside County

Posted on: Friday, 2 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Pete Bosak, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

May 27--BELLEFONTE -- A Johnstown man was sentenced to serve 11/2 to three years in a state prison after pleading guilty to two counts each of open lewdness and indecent exposure -- the first two charges for masturbating in two area theaters and the others for exposing himself while jailed at the Centre County Correctional Facility.

As part of a plea arrangement with the Centre County District Attorney's office, Fred G. Dravis, 50, of 122 Geis St., will serve his time in a state correctional institution outside Centre County.

"Every effort will be made to get you out of the county as soon as possible," Centre County Judge Thomas King Kistler told Dravis, who also has been in trouble for similar behavior in Cambria County.

Three of the four victims were consulted and backed the plea agreement, said Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall. The fourth victim could not be reached despite Marshall's efforts.

Had the county spent the time and expense to try Dravis on the charges, he likely would have received a similar sentence, so the agreement "was the best deal we could have gotten considering all of the facts and circumstances," Marshall said.

Dravis, shackled and in Centre County prison garb, said nothing during his sentencing, other than to respond "Yes, sir" to the judge's questions as to whether he understood what he was pleading guilty to.

Dravis pleaded guilty to exposing himself to two prison staff members in December. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of open lewdness for masturbating in front of two women at two State College-area theaters last year.

"I believe today's outcome was appropriate for what happened," said Brian Manchester, one of Dravis' two attorneys. "At some point, he's going to have to get a job and start his life all over again."

Charges were filed after separate incidents at Carmike Cinema 6 and Premiere Theatres on Oct. 4, according to court papers.

Women reported to police that Dravis sat near them in the theaters Oct. 4 and appeared to be masturbating. During a preliminary hearing in October, one of the women testified that while she was at Premiere Theatres, Dravis began masturbating near her. She left the theater, but Dravis followed her to her car, continued to masturbate and, after climaxing, walked away, she testified.

Dravis has been incarcerated since October but will not be given any credit for time served, the judge said. Kistler also ordered Dravis to pay $1,600 in fines, plus court costs. He also was sentenced to undergo treatment while serving his sentence in a state penitentiary.

Even if Dravis could have posted bail since October, he would have remained in the county jail, as he was serving a one- to two-year sentence handed down in Cambria County on a charge of indecent exposure.

In February, Dravis pleaded guilty in Cambria County Court to indecent exposure, open lewdness, loitering and prowling at nighttime. He was fined $1,500 and ordered to serve 12 to 24 months in jail, according to The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown.

The charges stemmed from his arrest by Geistown Borough police, when he was accused of exposing himself to a neighbor and prowling around her home between Aug. 27 and Nov. 13, 2004.

Pete Bosak can be reached at 235-3928.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.

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Source: Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.)

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