LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Manheim Township man already on probation in connection to the drowning death of his 3-year-old daughter in 2017 will now serve up to 63 years in prison after a sentencing hearing Friday, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
Geoffrey Bussard, 47, was sentenced to 29½ to 63 years by Lancaster County Judge Howard Knisely, the DA's office said. He was convicted of 18 charges related to the sexual abuse of two pre-teen girls.
Bussard showed no remorse for his crimes, according to the DA, and expressed his intention to appeal the convictions and his displeasure with a psychiatric board for classifying him as a sexually violent predator.
He was convicted of sexually abusing the girls, who were best friends, beginning when one of them was five years old in 2006.
One girl’s grandmother told the judge that Bussard “terrorized and corrupted” the victims with a “shameful balance of evil and perversion," according to the DA.
As part of his sentence, Bussard must register his whereabouts with police for the rest of his life and pay about $2,500 in restitution, the DA's office said.
At the time of trial last October, Bussard was on probation for endangerment in connection with his 3-year-old daughter’s drowning death in 2017. The girl, unsupervised, wondered out of a Farmstead Lane home and into the family’s swimming pool – while both of her parents slept inside.
