Falls Man Raped 8-Year-Old, Gets Prison

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA — A man who admitted to raping an 8-year-old girl in Falls will spend up to 40 years in prison for the crime.

Scott Melvin Galant, 29, pleaded guilty Wednesday to rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault, the Bucks County District Attorney's office announced.

With the plea, Galant admitted abusing the girl, who was 8 years old in 2018.

"My daughter is the strongest child I know," the victim’s mother told Galant in court. "But she had to be. You left her no choice when you made her relive over and over again the nasty things you had done to her."

In a letter last month to the victim and her family, Galant wrote that he regrets his actions, according to prosecutors.

The case came to the attention of police in December 2018, when, according to a criminal complaint, Galant called the victim's mother and told her that he had abused her daughter several months earlier.

The girl confirmed to her mother that the abuse happened, but said she kept it a secret because she was scared.

President Judge Wallace H. Bateman, Jr. on Wednesday sentenced Galant to 10-40 years in prison.