A Saxonburg man was sentenced Thursday to serve probation and house arrest over the objections of two sisters, who were 5 and 6 years old when they said he sexually abused them 21 years ago, and their mother.

Keith Callen, 50, who is required to register for life as a sexual offender after a jury found him guilty of abusing a girl from 2010 to 2015 while he was her gymnastics coach in Allegheny County, was sentenced in Butler County Common Pleas Court to 60 months of probation, including nine months of house arrest and 150 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges of endangering the welfare of children.

State police filed that and several other felony and misdemeanor charges against Callen in July 2016 — 15 years after the incident occurred in January 2001.

The sisters who opposed the probation sentence and called for a prison sentence, told Judge Timothy F. McCune that they came forward with their allegations after learning about the case against Callen in Allegheny County.

One of the sisters repeatedly called Callen a monster. She said she tried to forget about what he did to her and her sister, but they decided to come forward after hearing about the case against him in the other county.

Her sister echoed those comments, and said she feels she is being treated unfairly, and that the case is being “swept under the rug.” She said Callen should receive a prison sentence.

“I will never forget what he did to me,” she said, before urging McCune to reject the plea agreement. She said she and her sister are willing to testify against Callen.

Their mother begged McCune to reject the plea agreement.

“He took away their innocence,” she said about Callen. She said her daughters have received counseling and have had struggles over the years.

She criticized District Attorney Richard Goldinger and Assistant District Attorney Robert Zanella for not seeking a jail sentence against Callen.

Defense attorney David Chontos said the District Attorney’s Office exercises discretion in negotiating the plea agreement.

He said the probation Callen is serving from Allegheny County court ends in March 2026.

Callen thanked McCune for accepting the agreement before he was sentenced.

McCune said the District Attorney’s Office has discretion to offer plea agreements. Victims “almost universally” are not satisfied with those agreements, he said.

He commended the victims, saying they showed courage making victim impact statements.

After the sentence was ordered, the victims’ mother shouted her disagreement and made comments that included obscenities. Deputy sheriffs escorted her from the courtroom.

Contacted after the sentencing hearing, Goldinger said problems with evidence led to the plea agreement. He said he and Zenella discussed the case several times before Thursday’s sentencing.

“We had evidentiary issues that would have made it difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial,” Goldinger said.

He said he empathizes with the victims.

“I understand they’re not happy. Sometimes we have to make decisions that not everybody is happy with,” Goldinger said. “If we can’t go to trial and prove charges, we have to do what we can to get what justice we can,” he said.

The Butler and Allegheny county cases against Callen both initially were tried in Allegheny County in 2017, but the cases were split as a result of an appeal.

In Allegheny County, a jury found him guilty of aggravated indecent assault of a person under age 16, sexual assault by a sports official, indecent assault of a person under age 16 and two counts of corruption of minors. He was sentenced to three to six years in prison.

The case was appealed to Superior Court, which remanded the case for a new trial. In June 2019, he pleaded guilty to the same charges, and was sentenced to two to four years in prison.

He has been registering with state police as a Tier 3 sexual offender under Megan’s Law since May 2017.

In Butler County, he pleaded guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of children in September 2021.