Harry Andrew Chaney 

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A Coplay father who fled to Florida after being interviewed about the repeated rape of two young relatives has been sentenced to decades in state prison, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Harry Andrew Chaney, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of Rape of a Child, both felonies of the first degree, during a hearing before Judge Thomas M. Caffrey, according to the DA’s office. In exchange for his plea — made to spare the victims from testifying — prosecutors withdrew the remaining charges.

Chaney was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison. He must register as a sex offender for life under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and was designated a sexually violent predator.

According to court and prison records, Chaney fled Pennsylvania and was captured in Pasco County, Florida, on June 24, 2024. His bail was denied after prosecutors argued he absconded following an interview and that the allegations involved juvenile family members over the course of more than eight years.

The abuse began in 2016 when both victims were 7 years old and continued for years at a home in Coplay Borough, prosecutors detailed. The victims were known to Chaney.

The case was investigated by Lehigh County District Attorney Detective Gregg M. Dietz with assistance from the Lehigh County Child Advocacy Center, and prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer.