Dec 20, 2013 3 min read

An Allegheny County judge presiding in Washington County Court sentenced a local man who suffers from bipolar disorder to spend 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison for holding a child against her will in his room in a Washington boarding house and attempting to sexually assault her.

J.J. John Whipkey, 27, who lived on Allison Avenue in November 2012, fled on foot from the residence during the commotion that ensued when a 3-year-old girl was found shirtless in the home. Family members accused Whipkey of locking her in his room.

Whipkey hopped a bus to Pittsburgh, but, according to testimony in a nonjury trial earlier this year, told his then-girlfriend that the child and her brother were intruding on him.

After returning to Washington, he was taken into custody Dec. 3, 2012. He gave his name as “Soda Pop Joe Johnson” and produced a birth certificate that appeared to have been altered. Although Whipkey has a prior conviction on a sex charge, Judge Edward Borkowski said the circumstances surrounding the crimes do not indicate that he is a sexual predator, nor does he have a personality disorder or mental condition that cause his unlawful sexual conduct. He did, however, order Whipkey, who has twice used knives to cut himself, to undergo mental health treatment and refrain from contacting the victim and her family.

His criminal record includes an incident that occurred while he was living in a Clarksville personal care home in 2008. Whipkey was charged with engaging in sex with a mentally disabled, schizophrenic woman who was unable to give consent. In a similarity to the more recent false imprisonment charge, the woman was confined in a closet in an attempt to keep their activity undetected.

Whipkey was sentenced on that indecent assault charge to 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail and fined $100.

Because of this prior offense, Whipkey could have faced 25 to 50 years in prison, and if he appeals Borkowski’s conviction and sentence, state Superior Court could order him to be resentenced for the longer term.

“The Legislature is flat wrong on this case,” Whipkey’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Brian Gorman told the judge. “It’s clearly disproportionate.”

Whipkey declined to address the court, and the judge ordered the adult probation department’s presentence report be sealed. The young victim and her family were unable to appear in court Friday, Assistant District Attorney Traci McDonald said.

Whipkey also pleaded guilty in September 2005 to criminal trespass inside a structure in Greene County. A burglary charged was dismissed and he was placed on probation for a year.

McDonald said discussions about a guilty plea and a proposed sentence took place before Whipkey chose to have a verdict determined through a bench trial.

Borkowski gave Whipkey credit for serving more than a year in the county jail awaiting disposition of his case.

He told Whipkey he faces mandatory life imprisonment if he is convicted of a third sex offense. As a Megan’s Law offender, he will have to report his address to law enforcement authorities for the rest of his life.