Michael Archacki
Michael Archacki exhaled and muttered quietly to himself as a local judge read the verdict late Wednesday morning:
Guilty of all counts.
The four girls Archacki was convicted of sexually abusing cried and bowed their heads in the courtroom gallery.
Archacki, a former police officer and firefighter, was convicted at 10:50 a.m. of 24 counts of sex abuse that occurred last year at his Quarryville home.
The panel of seven women and five men returned their verdict after less than two hours of deliberation.
The jury didn't return a single not-guilty verdict.
As Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker read through the 24 charges and convictions, Archacki peered at his attorneys and, at one point, whispered to himself, "Jesus."
Archacki, 43, will be sentenced within three months. The two-dozen charges carry potential prison penalties that could span his life.
The four victims, ages 12 and 13 when they were molested and assaulted in other ways last year, wept quietly before walking out in unison.
"Four brave children and 12 dedicated jurors brought justice today," Daniel Dye, special assistant district attorney, said as he exited the courtroom.
Afterwards, jurors indicated they were impressed with the victims' testimony and found no motive for them to lie.
Reinaker, at Dye's request, ordered Archacki's bail be raised to $4 million.
Defense lawyer Alan Goldberg didn't object, saying Archacki doesn't have the means to make bail.
"There is no likelihood of him being released," Goldberg told the judge.
Thirty minutes earlier, Archacki — a large man in handcuffs and wearing a black suit — was escorted into the courtroom. He sat down and immediately whispered to Goldberg. In waiting, he fidgeted with his hands and straightened his tie.
As the jury walked in, no one looked at Archacki. After being seated, a male juror in the back row peered at the defense table after being seated.
One girl's mother prayed as the judge read through the 24 convictions. Her daughter, seated close by, cried and buried her head in her hands.
Some jurors looked back at the victims after the verdict was read.
Several detectives who worked the case also sat in for the verdict among spectators that packed benches. At least six deputy sheriffs, and Sheriff Mark Reese himself, watched over Archacki and the crowd.
Archacki's fiancee and stepson and stepdaughter arrived late and missed the verdict. They walked into the courtroom after everyone left, then immediately walked back out.
They testified earlier this week that they didn't know of any sexual contact between Archacki and the many girls that frequented their house on Greystone Lane.
The victims, however, testified at length about how they were fondled during sleep-overs and social gatherings at the Archacki home. Three of them said they awoke to find Archacki's hands in their pants, beneath their underwear.
Another victim said she was raped in the middle of the night. Another girl, who testified that Archacki acted like her "boyfriend," said she was forced to have oral sex as Archacki snapped photos with a cellphone camera.
There were more than 15,000 text messages exchanged between Archacki and the four girls.
Archacki, through his two attorneys and a private investigator, suggested that the victims' stories didn't add up. Goldberg argued that details about the assaults were inconsistent.
Goldberg declined comment.
Before being escorted out of the room by deputy sheriffs, Archacki stared at his parents, then glared at the judge.
