The Altoona Mirror reports that the state superior court denied the appeal of a sentence given to Howard Strait of Hopewell for his repeated sexual rape and abuse. Strait was sentenced to 36-114 years after his conviction on numerous counts in 2021. His attorney filed the appeal stating that the sentence was excessive and unreasonable. Her reasoning was that she presented 22 letters of reference stating to Strait’s good character, and had no prior criminal convictions. She also objected to strait having to register as a sexuallyviolent predator, which indicates, that a person will likely re-offend in the future. In the end, the state superior court rejected all arguments and upheld the sentence. Strait was convicted of attacking children in 3 counties.
