The founder of a western Massachusetts theater has been sentenced to five-to-seven years in prison and five years’ probation for his conviction of raping a teenage girl who took acting lessons from him.
The Northwest District Attorney’s office said David Fried Oppenheim was sentenced in Hampshire Superior Court. Oppenheim, founder of the defunct Pioneer Arts Center in Easthampton, was convicted last month of child rape and abuse of a child.
The 38-year-old Fried Oppenheim denied the charges in court.
The alleged victim testified the sexual abuse began in 2007 when she was 14 and continued until 2009. Other former students and theater workers testified Oppenheim either had sex with them or acted inappropriately toward them when they were between ages 16 and 19. He wasn’t charged over those allegations.
