Pottsville man sentenced after classification as a sex offender

A Pottsville man who entered guilty pleas to several moral charges and was classified by the state's sex offender evaluation board as being a sex offender was sentenced by Judge Charles M. Miller in the Schuylkill County Court to a state prison sentence.

Gene Edwards, 42, had pleaded guilty to several sex-related charges last August but his sentence was deferred as the court ordered he undergo evaluation by the state board. He now was sentenced on two sexual assault charges on persons under 13 years of age to serve 42 months to 144 months in a state correctional institution. He received credit for serving 320 days in the county prison and received concurrent sentences on two indecent assault charges.

Judge Miller also imposed a number of special conditions when he is released on probation he must abide. They include no unsupervised contact with minors, no use of the Internet, successful completion of a sex offenders treatment program including polygraph testing, no possession of pornography of any kind and he cannot be present at any playground, school or day care facility.