Ex-York County speech pathologist who raped boy, sent photos to NYPD sergeant, is sentenced

The boy had the option of reading his statement in private to the judge. But he said he wanted to speak in the courtroom in the York County Judicial Center so that everyone understood what he felt and thought — including that he wanted justice.

Between April 3, 2012, and May 9, 2012, Leigh Marcini raped the boy and sent photos of the sexual abuse to a sergeant in the New York Police Department, Alberto Randazzo. He targeted women on websites such as Match.com and Ashley Madison.

Though he now goes to church every Sunday, earns good grades and maintains friendships, the boy said, the sexual abuse has forever changed his life.

He said he feels upset, angry and hurt.

“Why did Leigh rape me?” the boy asked on Wednesday. “I think I deserve to know why Leigh did what she did.”

Previous coverage: Ex-York County speech pathologist who sent photos to NYPD sergeant pleads guilty to child rape

Marini, 44, of Oley Township, Berks County, pleaded guilty to rape of a child for a sentence of six to 12 years in prison. The only point of dispute at her sentencing was how much credit she would receive toward her punishment.

That's because in 2016, Marcini pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and was sentenced to five years in federal prison — plus 10 years’ supervised release. She said she served four years and three months.

Common Pleas Judge Amber Anstine Kraft stated that she was relieved to hear that the boy seemed to be doing “extremely well and flourishing in his life.” She commended him for his bravery in speaking in open court.

Marcini, she said, has accepted responsibility, acknowledged the severity of her conduct and expressed genuine remorse.

But Kraft ruled that she did not see a reason to award Marcini any credit for the time that she spent in federal custody, noting that the cases involved separate crimes and different facts.

“I do commend her for the work she’s done,” Kraft said, “but that is my sentence.”

Earlier in the hearing, Marcini read a lengthy statement in which she emphasized that she understood the gravity of her conduct.

She was a former speech language pathologist in York County who worked with children. Marcini voluntarily surrendered her license in Pennsylvania.

"There is absolutely no justification or rationalization for my behavior," Marcini said. “I take full responsibility for the destruction and trauma in his childhood."

Read: Police look for additional sexual exploitation victims in York and Adams counties case

In addition to her parents, Frank Dattilio, a clinical and forensic psychologist, testified on behalf of Marcini.

Dattilio said he's met with her several times since 2015 and conducted evaluations.

He said he’s interviewed more than 6,000 people charged with crimes and felt that her expression of remorse was probably the most genuine he’s heard in his 42 years in the field.

Marcini, he said, was the “posterchild for treatment and rehabilitation.” He opined that she posed a “very, very low risk for recidivism.”

“The woman who sits here today is far from that individual who perpetrated those heinous acts,” Dattilio said. “Her remorse is genuine. And she will live for the rest of her life with what she did.”

Marcini’s attorney, Robert Datner, described the case as one of the most difficult that he’s handled in his more than 30 years of practice.

Datner said Marcini had undiagnosed bipolar disorder and depression. She was also in a failing marriage.

“During this time in her life, she sought some way out,” Datner said. “And, unfortunately, she came into contact with a despicable human being through an online dating service. This gentleman was a New York City police sergeant, Alberto Randazzo.”

Randazzo, he said, “trolled the internet” to find women to target and groom to “feed his own predilections.” He was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison — plus eight years’ supervised release.

Datner said his client was one of the women who fell prey.

Marcini, he said, has already experienced significant punishment in the federal case. She will be branded as a sex offender and felon for the rest of her life.

“She’s destroyed her life, as well as destroyed the lives of others,” Datner said. “So this is a tragedy all the way around.

Check out: Child pornography suspect tried to blackmail girls online for nude photos, Adams County police say

But Senior Deputy Prosecutor Chuck Murphy noted that Marcini accepted a plea agreement that called for her to serve six to 12 years in prison — that wasn’t at issue in the case.

She had potentially faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Murphy took issue with suggestions in some statements that Marcini was a victim.

“The only victim in this room is the unbelievably strong young man who spoke to you from this table,” Murphy said. “The defendant in this case was a grown, adult woman.”

Marcini will receive credit for 16 days that she previously spent in inpatient treatment and York County Prison.

Dylan Segelbaum is the courthouse reporter at the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Contact him at dsegelbaum@ydr.com, by phone at 717-916-3981 or on Twitter @dylan_segelbaum.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Ex-York County speech pathologist Leigh Marcini sentenced for child rape