On June 28, 2024, Donald Hetrick, 40, of Alexandria, PA, was sentenced to a total of 21 to 47 years of incarceration following his conviction at Blair County’s first human trafficking jury trial. Hetrick was sentenced to 10 to 20 years for the top count: trafficking in individuals, as well as to consecutive state prison sentences for one count of rape of an unconscious person, two counts of corruption of minors, and one count of unlawful sexual contact with a minor. Hetrick’s conviction makes him a Tier III sex offender who will be required to regularly register his address and related identification information with the state police for the rest of his life.
As we previously reported, in January 2024, a jury convicted Hetrick of felony human trafficking, conspiracy to commit human trafficking, rape of an unconscious person, statutory sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility for his involvement in a human trafficking scheme. This monumental trial was Blair County’s first human trafficking trial.
The charges stemmed from the Hollidaysburg Police’s years-long investigation into Hetrick and his cousin and co-conspirator, Nikkia Beck, culminating in the suspects’ arrests in January 2023. The investigation revealed that during Easter weekend 2021, the pair rented rooms at the Comfort Suites in Altoona where Hetrick provided Beck’s daughter, 13 at the time, and a friend, 14 at the time, with marijuana and alcohol before raping the inebriated and unconscious 14-year-old in his motel room.
At his trial in January 2024, Hetrick took the stand in his defense and denied all allegations of rape, instead blaming his cousin, Beck, and her 13-year-old daughter for inviting both the 14-year-old friend and Hetrick to stay the night.
The victim, 17 at the time of trial, testified against Hetrick. To corroborate her testimony, the prosecution presented the jury with a series of text messages between Hetrick and Beck that the police discovered through a cellphone search. In their text conversation, Hetrick repeatedly tells Beck of his interest in engaging in sexual activity with the 14-year-old girl and reiterates his willingness to pay money to achieve that goal. Hetrick referenced the teen’s body and offered Beck money if she would allow him to “do whatever” he wanted and if she would lie on the bed and let him “explore her.” The jury convicted Hetrick after only 90 minutes of deliberation.
In a pre-sentence memorandum, defense counsel Scott Pletcher described Hetrick’s human trafficking conviction as “ill-fitting” and claimed that such charges should be reserved for “loaded minivans of people who are truly trafficked by the cartels.” Attorney Smith refuted that claim, stating “When you try to obtain a child for sex in exchange for money, that’s human trafficking and that’s what Mr. Hetrick did.”
We could not agree more. While it is true that a human trafficking charge would likely be appropriate for the situation Pletcher described, trafficking often occurs in more subtle forms throughout our Commonwealth.
Under Pennsylvania law, a person is guilty of trafficking if he recruits, entices, solicits, harbors, transports, provides, obtains or maintains an individual if he knows or recklessly disregards that the individual is subject to involuntary sexual servitude. Under Pennsylvania law, sexual servitude includes any sex act or performance involving a sex act in exchange for anything of value obtained by force, fraud, or coercion.
However, if the victim is a minor, as in this case, the law does not require proof of force, fraud, or coercion; under both federal and state law, any commercial sexual exploitation of minors constitutes sex trafficking because children cannot consent to being bought and sold for sex. The prosecution need only prove that the defendant engaged in soliciting, enticing, harboring, obtaining, patronizing, or transporting a minor who is or will be subject to sexual servitude. Because the victim in this case is a minor, the government did not need to prove the defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the victim’s age.
At sentencing, Hetrick continued to deny his actions. While addressing Blair County President Judge Wade A. Kagarise, Hetrick complained, “I feel like I was charged with these things and then fed to the wolves.” Judge Kagarise, who also presided over the trial, rejected Hetrick’s position and imposed what First Assistant District Attorney Smith described as “a strong sentence for abhorrent behavior.” The prosecutor explained, “I applaud the judge for this sentence. I think it sends a message to this community that human trafficking is not going to be tolerated.”
Again, we could not agree more. The CSE Institute commends the bravery of the survivors who came forward and testified about Hetrick’s crimes. Survivor testimony is essential for changing the narrative of sex trafficking and survivors’ voices must be amplified to help victims achieve justice and hold perpetrators accountable. The CSE Institute also commends the Hollidaysburg State Police in their investigations. We urge law enforcement to continue taking steps to protect children in their communities by conducting thorough investigations into child sexual abuse. Lastly, the CSE Institute applauds the Blair County prosecutors for trying the county’s first human trafficking charges by jury. We encourage prosecutors statewide to utilize Pennsylvania’s human trafficking laws more often, when appropriate. The Commonwealth’s comprehensive human trafficking law was enacted in 2014, and we would like to see continued efforts in combatting trafficking from Blair County and beyond.
Hetrick’s attorney says that Hetrick plans to appeal. Nikkia Beck, who is also charged with trafficking in individuals in Blair County, is scheduled for a plea on August 9, 2024. The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.