The Patton Township man found guilty in May in connection with various indecent exposure incidents spanning almost a two-year period on Penn State's campus and surrounding areas was sentenced Friday to serve 26 to 52 years in jail.
Ryan Ho, 34, remained quiet as Judge Pamela Ruest handed the sentence down. Ho was convicted in May on 17 counts of indecent exposure, 16 counts of burglary, 19 counts of criminal trespassing, seven counts of indecent assault, five counts of loitering and prowling at night time, three counts of open lewdness, five counts of harassment by physical contact, one attempted burglary, one count of simple assault and one count of possession of an instrument of crime with intent.
Ho was arrested in May 2011 after police said he pried open the window of a Patton Township apartment and assaulted the woman who lived inside.
After being arrested, Ho initially confessed to four related Patton Township incidents involving burglary between June 2010 and September 2011. Ho also confessed to other related incidents on the Penn State campus between August 2009 and May 2011.
Ho motioned to suppress his confessions, saying he was not fluent in English and misunderstood his rights when speaking to police, but the motion was denied.
Police said Ho would walk around at night until he found a young Asian female, after which he would don a mask and gloves, sneak up behind her and masturbate in front of her.
Police found Ho's DNA at various crime scenes as well as underneath the fingernails of one of the women he was found guilty of assaulting, after she scratched him in self-defense during one of the incidents.
Ho's attorney Karen Muir said Ho was "shell-shocked" by the long sentence, which Ho will attempt to appeal on the grounds of it being excessive.
Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller, who prosecuted Ho, said she was pleased with the sentence and that the community is lucky police caught Ho before the severity of his crimes escalated.
At trial, police officers testified that Ho's behavior was getting more aggressive. The women who Ho exposed himself to testified at the trial, some saying Ho would grab them or try to keep them from fleeing.
State College, Patton Township, Ferguson Township and Penn State University Police worked with the FBI and Parks Miller and the rest of the Centre County District Attorney's office since summer 2009 when the first incident was reported.
