A 20-year-old Harveys Lake man was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in state prison, followed by three years of probation, after admitting he used THC vapes to pressure a 15-year-old girl into sex and later sold marijuana products to other children in Luzerne County's Back Mountain region. Avery Matthew Alexander must also register as a sex offender for life under Pennsylvania's toughest registration tier.
Alexander pleaded guilty in June to charges spanning five separate cases, according to the Citizens' Voice. The charges included aggravated indecent assault of a child, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, and marijuana possession. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors withdrew drug trafficking charges and additional child sex charges.
According to prosecutors, the case traces back to March 2025, when the girl's mother reported the situation to authorities. Investigators later said the initial contact between Alexander and the teen happened in the parking lot of a food market on State Route 118 in Lehman Township, after she got his phone number while trying to buy marijuana, according to the Times Leader. That report prompted a forensic interview with the girl at the Luzerne County Children's Advocacy Center in Wilkes-Barre after Pennsylvania's ChildLine child abuse hotline received a tip.
THC Vapes Used as Leverage
Prosecutors say Alexander used THC vapes to pressure the 15-year-old for sex and threatened to cut her off if she refused. He had sex with her in his car, according to prosecutors, and exchanged vapes for sex with the girl under the terms of the charges against him. After one encounter, prosecutors say, he gave her a THC-laced vape.
Lehman Township police arrested Alexander in April 2025. He was arraigned by Kingston Township Magisterial District Judge Brian Tupper and held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $27,500 bail, the Times Leader reported at the time.
A Second Investigation Emerges
Days later, a separate investigation by Dallas Township police began after several area middle-school students fell ill from THC vape pens allegedly supplied by an adult seller, the Times Leader reported. That inquiry led investigators to suspect Alexander of dealing marijuana products to middle-school-aged children, according to police, and Dallas Township police ultimately charged him with selling THC vapes to other children.
A search of Alexander's home turned up $9,887 in cash along with THC wax, vape pens, marijuana, and psilocybin mushrooms, according to Dallas Township police. Lehman and Dallas townships are adjacent municipalities within Luzerne County's Back Mountain, a region that includes the small lakefront borough of Harveys Lake, where Alexander lived — a community of just 2,788 residents as of the 2020 census, per Census Reporter.
Sentencing and Courtroom Statements
Assistant District Attorney Adam Bompadre asked the court to impose a standard-range sentence. Chief Public Defender Joseph J. Yeager, who serves in Luzerne County's Division of Judicial Services and Records, noted his client's lack of a criminal history and his acceptance of responsibility.
Alexander apologized for his actions, saying he was sorry for the harm his decisions caused, and asked the court to give him one chance. He also told the judge he would do whatever else the court requires to pay his debt to society. Luzerne County Common Pleas Judge David W. Lupas, who was first elected to the bench in 2007 after previously serving as Luzerne County District Attorney, found that Alexander appeared remorseful.
Lupas was not convinced enough to spare Alexander further restrictions, however. He ordered Alexander to have no contact with the 15-year-old girl, to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, and to have no unsupervised contact with minors. Alexander was not deemed a sexually violent predator, and he was remanded to the state Department of Corrections with credit for one day already served.
Lifetime Registration Requirements
As a result of the aggravated indecent assault conviction, Alexander falls under Tier III of Pennsylvania's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, the state's highest registration category. According to the Megan's Law Public Website, Tier III offenders face lifetime registration and must report in person to the Pennsylvania State Police four times a year to verify their address and personal details.
The corruption of minors charge Alexander faced is graded under Pennsylvania law as a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison when it involves a course of conduct tied to sexual offenses, a higher classification than the first-degree misdemeanor applied to non-sexual conduct, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. That statutory distinction shaped how prosecutors and the defense approached plea negotiations in the case.
The case also surfaces broader concerns about youth substance exposure in Luzerne County. The 2023 Pennsylvania Youth Survey found that 24.6% of surveyed local students reported lifetime alcohol use, with e-cigarettes and marijuana flagged as key substances tracked among early adolescent users across regional schools, according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
