Immediate parole for man accused of assaulting woman

WILKES-BARRE — A man from Larksville who was accused of assaulting a woman he kept against her will at a residence in Courtdale was granted immediate parole on Wednesday.

Joshua Ryan Geisinger, 35, of East State Street, was sentenced by Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. to six to 24 months at the county correctional facility on charges of unlawful restraint and simple assault. Geisinger pled guilty to the charges in a plea agreement with prosecutors on June 24.

However, Sklarosky followed the recommended sentence reached with prosecutors and Geisinger’s attorney, Max C. Lubin, in granting Geisinger credit for 181 days time served at the county correctional facility. As Geisinger reached the minimum sentence of six months with credit for time served after his arrest, he was immediately paroled.

Geisinger was free on $30,000 bail he posted on Sept. 1, 2023.

Pennsylvania State Police at Wilkes-Barre arrested Geisinger on March 5, 2023, after a woman reported he assaulted her and would not let her leave a residence on Academy Street, Courtdale, for nearly a week, according to court records.

The woman reported she was kept in a basement, choked and had her head slammed against a window of a vehicle, court records say.

Lubin said Geisinger has stayed away from drugs and alcohol, and has been continually employed since being released on bail.

Sklarosky ordered Geisinger not to have any contact with the woman.