A 68-year-old Factoryville man was sent to prison Tuesday for fondling a 4-year-old girl after he lured her into his mobile home to see his pet fish.
Wearing a teal prison jumpsuit and only one shoe, James Bagg clutched a cane and hobbled up to Lackawanna County Judge Michael J. Barrasse to receive his sentence.
Mr. Bagg leaned against a table and did not speak before or after Judge Barrasse sentenced him to 18 to 48 months in state prison.
The victim told investigators that after Mr. Bagg lured her into his bedroom, he put her on his lap and "tickled" her inside her underwear.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual abuse.
During an initial interview with state police Trooper P.J. McGurrin, Mr. Bagg, Lot 36, Tall Timbers Trailer Park, said he invited the girl into his home to look at his birds.
She was in his kitchen and living room - not his bedroom, he said. When Trooper McGurrin told Mr. Bagg the victim said there were fish in his bedroom, he admitted he had taken the girl into the bedroom.
At first, Mr. Bagg denied touching her, but eventually he admitted it. He told the trooper he may have "accidentally" touched her below the waist.
In a subsequent interview, Mr. Bagg told investigators he put the victim on his lap and fondled her. He pleaded guilty last year to two misdemeanor counts - luring a child and indecent assault.
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