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Man pleads guilty to taping, molesting teen girls
By SANDRA K.

A Westmont man pleaded guilty Tuesday to secretly videotaping and recording three teenage girls with a “spy camera” while they were showering and using the bathroom of his home.

Thomas C. Hull also pleaded no contest in county court to sexually molesting one of the girls by inappropriately rubbing against her in an incident he also taped.

Hull, 38, of the 100 block of Tioga Street, faces a prison term and tens of thousands of dollars in fines when he is sentenced Aug. 3 by Judge Gerard Long.

Prosecutors have not recommended a sentence. But Long noted it could mean a life sentence for Hull if the sentences would run consecutively.

The defendant also will be evaluated on whether he is a sexually violent predator likely to re-offend. If determined to be a predator, he would be subject to lifetime registration with the state police.

District Attorney Patrick Kiniry said that while some charges are being dropped against Hull, he did not get a “deal” from prosecutors.

“I look upon this as despicable conduct,” Kiniry said, noting that Hull could wind up in state prison for years. “I can’t fathom what would possess a person to do this.”

Defense attorney Robert Davis Gleason of Johnstown said his client “is very remorseful and regretful of this activity.”

“At the time, he was having a lot of marital problems and psychological strife,” Gleason said. “He should have gone and sought counseling.”

The girls who were taped were friends of a relative, police have said.

Hull, who has no prior criminal record, served in the Air Force and worked as an air traffic controller at the John Murtha/Cambria County Airport.

His employment was terminated when he was arrested seven months ago, and he has been in jail since then, Gleason said.

Hull pleaded guilty to 20 felony counts of sexual abuse of children and three counts each of invasion of privacy, wiretap-law violations and possessing obscene materials.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with evidence.

No-contest pleas were entered for one count each of indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor.

Detective George Musulin of the West Hills police said the discs showing the girls in the bathroom were found by Hull’s estranged wife when she went to the house to pack up some personal belongings in October.

The taping was done in April 2006 with a miniature camera mounted in an electrical socket in the bathroom, Musulin said.

In the incident in which Hull touched the girl, he was seen “grabbing her and rubbing her. She was screaming, ‘Get away,’ and ‘Help,’ ” the detective said.

When his wife told him that she had gone to the police, Hull dismantled the bathroom camera to hide evidence of the crime, Musulin said. The recording equipment was in the basement.

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Did Johnstown tower have any radio contact with a large aircraft about 20 miles to its south? Supervisor Dennis Fritz and controller Thomas Hull picked up binoculars -- the tower has no radar -- and scanned the horizon to the south. The day was clear and, from the highest point in the area, they could spot radio towers in neighboring Somerset County. A large plane would have stood out.

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Sometime shortly before 10 a.m., the direct line from Cleveland Air Traffic Control rang inside the control tower at Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Did Johnstown tower have any radio contact with a large aircraft about 20 miles to its south? Supervisor Dennis Fritz and controller Thomas Hull picked up binoculars -- the tower has no radar -- and scanned the horizon to the south. The day was clear and, from the highest point in the area, they could spot radio towers in neighboring Somerset County. A large plane would have stood out.


"We didn't see a thing," Fritz said.

Hull went on the radio and broadcast an open message: "Aircraft 20 South of the field, contact Johnstown tower ... ."

Ninety seconds later, Cleveland called back. The plane was now 15 miles south and heading directly for the Johnstown tower.

"We suggest you evacuate," they told him.

Fritz ordered trainees and custodial staff out of the 85-foot tower. He and Hull stayed at their posts and scanned the south with binoculars. It occurred to Fritz that the plane must be flying below the level of the mountain ridges around them

Killtown

Apr 27 2008, 12:06 PM

Interesting twist to the story about Hull!