Content warning: sexual assault, gun violence, rape

The man who sexually assaulted a student at gunpoint in Ravine-Narvik Hall has been sentenced to 13 to 40 years in state prison. 

Montelle Brown, the 29-year-old Meadville man, will also be required to register as a sexual offender for life and face 12 months of probation when released.

The sentencing took place at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, at the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas. President Judge John Spataro was presiding. Brown was serving an unrelated 14-month minimum to five-year firearms sentence and attended court via video conference.

The sentence follows a November guilty plea. Brown admitted to raping a student at gunpoint in her Ravine-Narvik Hall dormitory on Dec. 10, 2019. He plead guilty to two counts of rape. Spataro clarified that the consecutive rape sentences would run concurrent to any previous sentences Brown is currently serving. 

Then-Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz identified Brown’s DNA sample as a match to the sample collected from the victim’s medical exam the night of the rape. He was subsequently charged on Feb. 24, 2021, for his involvement in the Ravine assault.

“(Brown) has had previous opportunities to curb his criminal behavior and failed in that regard,” Spataro said.

A report conducted by Brenda Manno of the Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Assessment Board and presented in court found that Brown “currently and previously has been diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder.” Manno expressed that in her opinion, the diagnosis aligned with the perpensity to commit sexual crimes.

These findings warranted Brown’s sentencing as a sexually violent predator. Brown will be required to register as a sexually violent predator quarterly and will be subject to monthly therapy sessions, according to Spataro.

Crawford County District Attorney Paula Diagacoma commended the Meadville City Police Department for their diligence on the case, and praised the bravery of the victim for bringing her story forward.

Diagacoma also suggested that cases such as these feel “sanitized” in the court setting and it would be very different if people watched the incident on video.

“It would be nauseating and no one would want to watch … what (the victim) had to endure,” Diagacoma said. “We need to make sure that when (Brown) does get out of prison, he is under surveillance for the longest amount of time possible.”

Spataro called the impact on the community profound.

“Allegheny is such a peaceful college,” Spataro said. “(Students) have every right to believe they are safe and secure. I am expressing our shock and disgust of the barbarity and cruelty of this kind of action.”

Allegheny College announced security changes following the incident, including the installation of security cameras, peepholes on dormitory doors, and relocating the Office of Public Safety. The victim sued the college for $75,000 in 2020 for damages related to the attack. The litigation is still pending.

In her closing remarks, Diagacoma said that the victim’s life is forever altered.

“There is never going to be a full 100% recovery for (the victim) in this case,” Diagacoma said. “She accomplished so much by deciding to attend Allegheny and enjoyed classes and activities. … She was having a great day that day, getting ready for finals … her and another friend walked home, she was going to sleep, and then the defendant knocked on the door.”

Brown provided no statement prior to or during the sentencing.