Zantae Weltner

A Butler man was sentenced to 7 to14 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of assault.

Zantae Weltner, 24, received his sentence Thursday afternoon, Jan. 11, from Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelley Streib. He will serve two consecutive terms of 42 to 84 months as part of his plea agreement, stemming from an attack that occurred in April 2022 when Weltner physically and sexually assaulted a woman.

In addition, Weltner was sentenced to 30 to 60 months for two counts of conspiracy to intimidate, which occurred in June 2023 when he allegedly attempted to coerce the woman into not testifying against him in exchange for $700. He was also handed a six-month sentence for a protection violation, which occurred when he attempted to contact the mother of his child while in prison. Those sentences will run concurrently with his 7 to 14 year sentence.

Weltner also will have to register as a Tier 3 sex offender under Pennsylvania’s SORNA Act.

“This is one of the hardest jobs I have to do,” Streib said. “It’s up to you whether you let this define your future.”

As part of the plea agreement, five other charges against Weltner were dismissed.

The assault occurred on the morning of April 17, 2022, near the 11th Frame Bar and Grill on Fairground Hill Road in Butler Township. At trial, the woman testified that Weltner began making advances toward her at the bar, followed her as she walked home from the bar, then assaulted her.

Just before the sentencing, the defendant read a prepared statement, while choking back tears. He also handed the judge a copy of a certificate of completion of a prison course he had recently taken.

“That night I made a mistake, and I learned a valuable lesson,” Weltner said. “I hope to show society that I am not a bad human being.”

Weltner’s court-appointed attorney, Jose Hernandez-Cuebas, also spoke on his behalf.

“We felt that all the evidence proves that this was a consensual matter gone sideways,” Hernandez-Cuebas said. “It started consensually, but didn’t end consensually.”

Between 2020 and his 2022 arrest, Weltner had been charged in other incidents with unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, simple assault, disorderly conduct and use/possession of drug paraphernalia.

Weltner has accrued 635 days of credit for time served.