Deroa

Deroa

Tressler admits letting stepmother severly punish sons

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WILKES-BARRE — A father who admitted he allowed his three sons to be abused by their stepmother sobbed in Luzerne County Court on Monday saying he wanted to “be their dad again.”

Gerald Kendall Tressler, 45, of South Grant Street, Hazleton, appeared before President Judge Michael T. Vough to be sentenced for endangering the welfare of children.

West Hazleton police charged Tressler with failing to stop his wife, Agnes Maria Deroa, 45, with abusing his sons. Deroa was a stepmother to the boys.

Police allege the abuse went on for years, ending in late 2017.

Police initiated an investigation when Hazleton police received information that the three boys were being abused and neglected inside the house.

According to court records:

Police learned Deroa and Tressler were drug users and often had the boys deliver prescription medications for cash in front of their residence.

Deroa gave the boys a long list of chores they would begin before school. If chores were not completed before school, the boys were forced to finish the chores while Deroa sat on the couch.

One boy lost his fingernails due to heavy use of cleaning chemicals because Deroa never provided protective gloves, court records say.

The boys told police they were not able to finish school homework due to the number of chores Deroa created for them, including taking care of a newborn infant.

If chores were not finished, Deroa punished the boys by grounding them for extended periods of time and withheld food from them.

Police said the boys reported Deroa removed all items from their bedrooms and forced them to stand in the corner facing the wall for days. One boy was forced by Deroa to hold weights until he collapsed, court records say.

Police said Tressler was aware of the abuse Deroa was administering to the boys and failed to protect them from unnecessary punishment.

In court Monday, Tressler said it was a “mistake,” and apologized to his sons saying, “I just want to be your dad again.”

“It’s not a mistake to allow another person to abuse your children,” Vough said, before sentencing Tressler to seven years probation.

Tressler was ordered to serve the first two years of probation on house arrest with electronic monitoring and not to have any contact with his children.

Deroa was sentenced by Vough on Nov. 13 to two-to-five years in state prison on charges of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.