A Butler man was sentenced Thursday on indecent assault charges for sexually assaulting a minor in 1986.

John J. Goettler, 57, of Butler, was sentenced to serve 48 months of probation including three months in the county prison followed by 8 1/2 months of house arrest after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges of indecent assault.

Judge Timothy McCune also ordered Goettler to comply with the county probation office’s condition for sexual offenders. McCune noted he received a victim impact statement, which was not read aloud in court.

Goettler did not speak before he was sentenced.

State police filed the charges against Goettler regarding an incident in Penn Township in June 1986. He was initially charged with two felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse involving a victim less than 16 years old and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and one count of rape, in addition to three misdemeanor charges of indecent assault.

Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon said the crime took place before the enactment of Megan’s Law, which went into effect in April 1996. Charges were filed in May 2022.

Under Megan’s Law, a person convicted of certain sex crimes can be deemed a sexual offender or sexually violent predator.

A second, older case with similar charges remains pending against Goettler, according to court records.

In that case, state police filed two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13, indecent assault of a person less than 16, indecent assault and corruption of minors.

Charges in that case were filed in September 2021. According to charging documents, Goettler inappropriately touched a girl between the age of 6 and 10 over a span of years between 1998 and 2005.

According to state police, the statute of limitations is extended in cases involving minors. If a victim is 18 years old or less, charges can be filed until she is 55 years of age, police said.