Guilty plea in molestation case

Shane William Devoe, 28, of West Sadsbury admitted to molesting two girls he babysat

WEST CHESTER >> A West Sadsbury man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he sexually molested two young girls he babysat, after befriending their families at a local church.

Shane William Devoe, a 28-year-old self-employed landscaper, will begin serving an 11½- to 23-month-long sentence at Chester County Prison later this year. First, he will undergo a review by the state’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board psychologists to determine whether he fits the characteristics of the state’s Sexually Violent Predator classification.

If he does, Devoe’s home address would be given to his neighbors. He is also under lifetime registration requirement through the state’s Megan’s Law.

Devoe was accompanied to court Tuesday by his attorney, Robert Donatoni of West Chester, who along with Assistant District Attorney Megan King, of the DA’s Child Abuse Unit, presented the plea agreement calling for the sentence to Common Pleas Judge William Mahon, who accepted it.

He pleaded guilty to two separate counts of indecent assault and two counts of corruption of minor, both graded as a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison.

According to court documents, the case involved two separate victims from two separate families for which Devoe babysat between November 2015 and June 2016. He was charged in July. State Trooper Jeffrey Purcell investigated both cases.

In the first complaint, the victim was an 11-year-old who lived in Atglen. The victim was interviewed at the Chester County Child Advocacy Center at the county Justice Center on June 24. She said she knew Devoe as her babysitter, and that he was a friend from the Highland Baptist Church. She told the interviewer that Devoe was doing something

he should not be doing, specifically molesting her while they sat on a couch at her home while watching television.

He would touch her inappropriately, said the

girl, who was not identified in the criminal complaint, when her parents were out of the room. “I don’t know what to do,” she said.

The second complaint came in July when a 10-year-old girl told state Trooper David Brodeur much the same thing. She said that she would go to

Devoe’s home to be babysat, and that while they were watching television, he would put his hand on her leg and touch her bottom, and molest her under her clothing.

She said after this occurred on several occasions, she told Devoe to stop. He then punished her by spanking her.

The girl’s mother told police that Devoe had been babysitting for her three daughters once a week for several months.

Devoe remains free on bail pending the formal imposition of his sentence.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan, call 610-696-1544.