CARLISLE — With tears welling in his eyes, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Frank Sullivan of Galeton told a Cumberland County judge Tuesday morning that post-traumatic stress from more than three decades of service and four combat tours prompted him to turn to child pornography.
“I accept full responsibility for everything,” the 69-year-old former Hampden Township resident said as he stood before President judge Edward E. Guido. “I damaged friends, family…countless thousands.”
Guido sentenced Sullivan to 5 years of probation and fined the former general $2,500 on his guilty pleas to five felony charges of possessing child porn.
The sentencing occurred 16 months after Sullivan’s arrest, which came after agents of the state attorney general’s office searched his Tunbridge Lane home and also arrested his tenant for child porn possession.
Sullivan had no deal regarding a sentence. Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Jones said the only agreement was that the sentences on all five charges would run concurrently with one another.
Defense attorney Patrick F. Lauer Jr. argued for a probation term, or at worst house arrest. He cited Sullivan’s military service and the trials that entailed which left his client with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and insomnia. “He had internalized it,” Lauer said.
Sullivan had served as the executive director for the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission. His military career includes tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sullivan was wracked with emotion as he spoke to Guido. He broke down at one point, then barely regained his composure.
He talked about the burden borne by those in the military and how deployments can leave them feeling as though the rest of society has simply moved on without them. “Sometimes you think it’s impossible to make up that distance,” Sullivan said.
“I don’t know how much time I have left on this planet. But in the name of the Lord, I’m going to make it up…to those I’ve hurt,” he said.
Guido said his decision on Sullivan’s punishment was partly influenced by the ex-general’s “distinguished” military career. However, “First and foremost the defendant has shown real remorse and has taken steps to address the underlying psychological problems” that led to his crimes, the judge said.
Jones then informed Sullivan that he must register with state police as a sex offender for the next 15 years.
