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One in custody after domestic stabbing in WB

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H.S. Sports: Weather wipes out most of Thursday’s District 2 baseball, softball

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As soon as Hector Berberena-Soto explained it was a &#8220;mistake&#8221; he sexually assaulted two girls, a stern Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough directed him to stop talking.</p><p>Berberena-Soto was sentenced Thursday to spend between four years, six months and 14 years in state prison.</p><p>&#8220;See it was a mistake,&#8221; Berberena-Soto said before he was shut down by Vough.</p><p>&#8220;It was a mistake sexually assaulting two girls? Stop!&#8221; Vough said before handing down the lengthy prison sentence.</p><p>Hazleton police arrested Berberena-Soto in August 2017 after investigating claims he had sexually assaulted the girls for six years.</p><p>The youths were questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children&#8217;s Advocacy Center in May 2017.</p><p>One girl claimed Berberena-Soto began assaulting her when she was 8 in 2012, and continued until April 2017. The last assault occurred inside a vehicle parked near a grocery store on 22nd Street in Hazleton.</p><p>The other girl told authorities Berberena-Soto began assaulting her when she was 6.</p><p>Berberena-Soto told the girls not to tell anyone about the assaults because it would get him in trouble with state parole agents.</p><p>Berberena-Soto was sentenced on three counts of indecent assault. He also was ordered to lifetime registration of his address, place of employment and vehicle upon his release from prison under the state&#8217;s Megan&#8217;s Law.</p><p>Four counts of aggravated indecent assault, three counts of rape of a child, two counts of corruption of minors and one count each of statutory sexual assault and indecent exposure were withdrawn against Berberena-Soto, court records say. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Berberena-Soto </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Hector-Berberena-Soto-05232019.jpg</photo0><caption0>Berberena-Soto </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Hazleton man calls child sex assaults ‘mistake,’ gets prison