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Did this Beaver County woman cut a ‘sweetheart plea deal’? She faced up to 136 years in prison.

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — Janine Young is behind bars at the Beaver County Prison, serving a sentence of 10-20 years for committing child sex crimes.

She was originally charged with 34 crimes, including 15 counts of statutory sexual assault for raping a young boy. If she had been convicted of all of those crimes, she was looking at 60-136 years behind bars. However, some including Bryan Linville, say she cut a sweetheart plea deal.

“It’s disgusting,” Bryan Linville tells Channel 11 News. “I allowed her into my house.”

Linville says he has known Young since the seventh grade. He believes his former friend, now a convicted sex offender, was trying to groom his two sons.

“This is terrible. She kept bugging to watch my children and thank God I didn’t,” Linville continued. “She also bugged other friends of mine. Thank God we all didn’t allow that.”

Linville says he believes the punishment fails children and the victim in this case. Others tell Channel 11 that Young could be released when she’s in her 40s or 50s and possibly re-offend.

“This woman raped — raped children and she got 10-20 and she’ll probably get out in eight,” Linville said. “She had 34 charges and in the end, she had four. I don’t understand how that can be.”

The Beaver County District Attorney says Young’s sentence is long for someone without a criminal record, adding that many factors go into sentencing, including input from the victim and whether or not the victim wants to testify.

Linville says he would have never guessed his former longtime friend would end up convicted of child sex crimes. He shared this piece of advice with all parents:

“We just have to pay attention and watch out — even the close people around us,” Linville says. “We have to stick together and watch our backs.”

Channel 11 has reached out to Janine young’s lawyer. He was in court all day and we weren’t able to get in touch. Janine Young does not yet show up in the system as a registered sex offender. It’s not clear how long that process will take.

Channel 11 spoke to the victim’s family.  They tell Channel 11 they’re pleased with the sentencing, and it will allow their child to move forward with his life, knowing Young is not able to hurt him again.

They praised the District Attorney on the case for her attention to the facts and compassion for the entire family.

The victim’s family is encouraging any other victims to come forward and shared this message for all parents:

“Tell your kids they can tell you anything.  Share that message with them over and over so they’re comfortable coming to you with anything. If they know they can come to you and speak up, it might stop something horrible from happening.”

Once Janine Young serves her sentence, she will also have to register as a convicted sex offender under Megan’s Law for the rest of her life. Once released, Young will be on parole for 12 years and on probation for an additional 12 years.