Larry Semenza is not above the law.
The former Old Forge police chief left a courtroom in handcuffs Monday after Lackawanna County Judge Vito Geroulo sentenced him to 18 months to four years in state prison for corruption of a minor - a first-degree misdemeanor - and failure to report child abuse.
The sentence is beyond the sentencing guidelines, which Geroulo said reflected Semenza's position of power and the impact on the victim, the borough and the law enforcement community.
"Police officers are supposed to be not above the law, but servants of the law," he said.
Geroulo also sentenced two other borough men, former police Captain Jamie Krenitsky and former volunteer firefighter Walter Chiavacci for indecent assault. Krenitsky, 35, received nine to 23 1/2 months and Chiavacci, 48, received three to 18 months, both in county jail.
The judge ordered all three to register as sex offenders under Megan's Law for the next 15 years. All three men were charged in May 2012, after a victim came forward to allege Semenza, 49, and the other men had sexually abused her when she was a teenager and volunteer junior firefighter with the Old Forge Fire Department. The woman claimed she had a romantic relationship with Semenza from 2004 to 2007, starting when she was 15.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.
In court Monday, the victim stood beside Deputy District Attorney Jennifer McCambridge and told the judge that it would take courage and strength to put the past behind her.
"When I was 15, these people had a chance to protect me," she said. "They used my trust and compassion against me."
"You have hurt me more than you will ever know," she added, addressing Semenza.
McCambridge said the entire borough and police departments around the area were also hurt by the "breach of trust."
"Every police officer around has to deal with that breach of public trust," she said.
Semenza's wife, Marisa Semenza, presented another perspective, describing the former chief's dedication to the police department and desire to help others. Pausing often to collect her emotions, Semenza said their family has started the "rebuilding process" and asked the judge for leniency.
"I chose to stand by his side and fight for his innocence," she said, calling him a model father, husband, friend and Old Forge resident. "As I stand here today, I couldn't be more proud of him."
After his trial in October, Semenza was acquitted of the most serious charges - felony counts of aggravated indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor, as well as misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and indecent exposure.
Geroulo said his sentence reflected Semenza's abuse of his position as chief.
"Chief is accorded a special level of prominence, a special level or preeminence, a level of respect and of responsibility," he said. "I don't think all of that could have happened except for the culture of permissiveness and the attitude that the law doesn't apply to me."
After sentencing, two Lackawanna County deputies led the handcuffed Semenza from Geroulo's office and down the courthouse corridor to the prisoner elevator.
(Dave Singleton, staff writer, contributed to this report.)