Source: aclupa.org 9/12/23 Session: 2023-2024 Hearing: House Judiciary Committee | Hearing on HB 77: Megan’s Law residence restrictions September 12, 2023 | 1:00 p.m. Veronica Miller, Senior Policy Counsel for Criminal Legal Reform, testified on behalf of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. To watch the hearing or read testimonies of all participants, click here. Bill summary: House Bill 77 would prohibit an individual classified as a sexually violent predator (SVP) from residing within 2,500 feet of a public school, private school, parochial school or daycare center for the duration of their required registration period.…
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PA: Efficacy of sex offender residency rules questioned in Pa. House hearing
Source: pennlive.com 9/12/23 A bill that would restrict where certain sex offenders could live in Pennsylvania got a skeptical reception at a House hearing on Tuesday, with discussion centering around whether such measures actually increase public safety. The House Judiciary Committee held an informational session Tuesday on House Bill 77, which would require that anyone who has been adjudicated as a “sexually violent predator” under Pennsylvania’s sex crimes law could not live within 2,500 feet of a school or child care center. Although judges can impose residency restrictions on a…
Read MorePA: Megan’s Law hearing canceled
Source: altoonamirror.com 5/12/23 HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County Senior Judge Timothy M. Sullivan won’t be hearing arguments today on the constitutionality of the state’s law requiring sex offenders to regularly register their addresses and other information with state police. Because the state Supreme Court is taking up the constitutional issue on May 23 when it reviews a Chester County case, today’s hearing before Sullivan was canceled. Decisions by the state Supreme Court, expected after the May 23 arguments in Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, are likely to be influential on Blair County cases.…
Read MorePA: Hampton mom’s push to restrict where sex offenders live gets lawmakers’ support
Source: cbsnews.com 3/27/23 HAMPTON, Pa. (KDKA) – Violent sexual predators are living just steps away from playgrounds and elementary schools right here in our area. It’s a common yet false belief that sex offenders can’t come close, or live close, to our kids. “Anyone in Pennsylvania should be thinking about this issue, especially if they have children because there are a lot of schools and daycares in Pennsylvania, and this could be happening anywhere.” There’s actually nothing to stop sex offenders from coming too close for comfort. Currently, Pennsylvania is…
Read MorePA: Superior Court finds no vindictiveness by judge, Bedford DA
Source: altoonamirror.com 2/16/23 An opinion handed down by the Pennsylvania Superior Court this week has found that a Bedford County man failed to prove his new minimum sentence of 26.5 years on child abuse charges — more than double his original sentence for the crimes — was based on the “vindictivness” of the judge and district attorney. Mark Allen _____, 53, who is serving his sentence in the State Correctional Institution at Laurel Highlands, sought to show that his new and much tougher sentence was unconstitutional because Bedford County authorities…
Read MorePA: Can you Ban Sex Offenders from Your Association? NO
Source: jdsupra.com 1/23/23 Lake Naomi Club, Inc. v. Rosado, ___ A.3d ____ (2022, Penn). Issue Can a private, planned community adopt a restrictive covenant that prohibits lifetime registered sex offenders from residing within that community? The Facts At Pocono Pines’ 2013 annual meeting, residents raised concerns about a sex offender who was living in Lake Naomi. Accordingly, on March 30, 2016, Pocono Pines (“Association”) amended its Declaration to provide that no registered Tier III sex offender “shall occupy or reside in any [l]ot, dwelling, or common area within the boundaries of”…
Read MorePA: Hampton Police Department hosting educational safety meeting for parents on Megan’s Law
Source: triblive.com 1/12/23 In her time working as the social service coordinator at the Hampton Police Department, Angela Kenbok has learned a lot of safety tips she teaches her own children. But for parents who work in different professions, Kenbok believes it’s important that they learn how to navigate the Megan’s Law website and tell their children the difference between good and bad strangers. Megan’s Law requires that the Pennsylvania State Police maintain a registry of sex offenders who live or visit an area to notify the public of their…
Read MorePA: Judge to weigh sex offender registration
Source: altoonamirror.com 1/12/23 A Blair County senior judge has scheduled arguments in May to consider a constitutional challenge to state law requiring convicted sex offenders to regularly register their addresses and related information with state police. In recent orders, Senior Judge Timothy M. Sullivan set an April 11 sentencing date for Colby James ____ of Tyrone and a May 12 hearing date to consider the constitutional challenges being raised on ____ ‘s behalf to the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act. ____ , 22, who pleaded guilty in March…
Read MorePA: Scranton ordinance on where registered sex offenders can live remains contrary to court decision
Source: wfmz.com 12/17/22 SCRANTON — At 17, Zachary Pluko saw his future in the military or law enforcement. At 29, the vision is a memory. Pluko works at a Turkey Hill store to cover the monthly $600 rent he pays for a room on Moir Court. He and six other residents of 839-841 Moir Court mostly keep to themselves but they all share something in common: they’re registered sex offenders. Their residence, about 940 feet from a school, is contrary to an unenforced Scranton ordinance that remains part of the…
Read MorePA: After a registered sex offender moves near the Hampton Township school, the mother wants to change state laws
Source: localtoday.news 12/7/22 Flyers distributed by Hampton Township Police Department informed parents and people living in the Central Elementary School area that a registered sex offender had moved nearby. Community notification is required under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, but the law does not limit where an offender may live. After learning that this individual lived less than 1,200 feet from where her three children study and play during recess, Katie Wymard set to work to try to change the law. “They’re on break every day and it’s literally in his backyard,”…
Read MorePA: Judge grants work release for ex-guard who sexually assaulted Northampton County inmate
Source: lehighvalleylive.com 9/22/22 A Northampton County judge sentenced a former county prison guard to jail Wednesday for sexually assaulting a female inmate, but also granted the man immediate work release. Kelvin Myers, 41, of Forks Township, previously pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault and was in court Wednesday for his sentencing in the case. Judge Murray sentenced Myers to four months to 18 months in county prison. Under the institutional sexual assault charge, Myers must register as a sex offender for 15 years under Pennsylvania’s version of Megan’s Law. “This…
Read MorePA: Pennsylvania Court Decides State Registry Laws Violate State Constitution
Source: ACSOL A court in Pennsylvania decided this week that its state registry laws violate the state’s constitution for two reasons. First, the laws are based upon a false presumption that all registrants have a high risk of reoffending. Second, the laws are punitive. “This decision by a Pennsylvania court is the clearest statement available to date regarding how registries punish individuals convicted of a sex offense and yet are ineffective at preventing future sexual abuse,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Although this decision is binding only in Pennsylvania,…
Read MorePA: Licensed Pennsylvania sex therapist defends ‘minor-attracted persons’ in viral video
Source: foxnews.com 8/11/22 A licensed sex therapist and counselor sparked backlash on social media after posting a video where she appeared to defend “minor-attracted persons.” “They are probably the most vilified population of folks in our culture,” Miranda Galbreath says in the video posted on YouTube titled “Let’s talk about minor-attracted persons.” Galbreath goes on to explain that “most folks” make “incorrect assumptions” about “minor-attracted persons” and those assumptions “create harm for an already marginalized population.” “The term pedophile has moved from being a diagnostic label to being a judgmental,…
Read MorePA: Court upholds sex offender registration as constitutional
Source: huntingdondailynews.com 8/3/22 An attempt by a Petersburg man to be released from lifetime sexual offender registration failed last month when Pennsylvania’s Superior Court asserted registration is a “non-punitive, collateral consequence of his conviction” and not a violation of his constitutional rights. … According to the decision issued by the Superior Court in Howard’s case, Howard argued lifetime registration is “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore violates his constitutional rights as outlined in the U.S. Constitution’s 8th Amendment. In its decision, written by the state Judge Alice Beck Dubow, the…
Read MorePA: Ex-Police Chief Sentenced to Prison for Sex Crimes
Source: attorneygeneral.gov 7/18/22 HARRISBURG–Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that former Weissport Chief of Police Brent Getz, of Lehighton, Pa., was sentenced to Brent Getz was sentenced today to 16-32 years in prison followed by three years consecutive probation for the repeated rape of a child and will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life under SORNA. “This sentencing ensures that Getz is held accountable for his horrific actions and that his victim receives long-awaited justice,” said AG Shapiro. “My office is committed…
Read MorePA: Megan’s Law for nursing homes gaining traction in Harrisburg
Source: triblive.com 1/15/22 A state lawmaker is making good on a promise to repair a flawed system that permits aging and ailing convicted sex offenders to quietly enter long-term care facilities — often unbeknownst to patients and staff — where some easily are finding their next victims. A bill set to be introduced next week by state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-Ambridge, comes in response to a Tribune-Review investigation published last month detailing what experts termed a simmering crisis involving more than 900,000 sex offenders on Megan’s Law registries across the nation. After…
Read MorePA: Another Blow to SORNA I with Failure to Register Conviction Relief
Source: parsol.org 12/28/21 December 22, 2021 has seen the release of many case opinions from the PA Supreme Court (SCOPA) with Commonwealth v. David Santana being the biggest win for our advocacy efforts. In a 5-2 decision, SCOPA affirmed the Superior Court’s opinion that “Mr. Santana’s registration requirement under SORNA was an after-the-fact punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Accordingly, he had no duty to comply with those requirements and his conviction for ignoring them, under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4915.1(a)(3) [failure to provide accurate information], was a manifest injustice and must be…
Read MorePA: Life sentence for Edwardsville man convicted of child pornography
Source: timesleader.com 8/27/21 WILKES-BARRE — In what attorneys believe to be the first in Pennsylvania, an Edwardsville man convicted by a Luzerne County jury of possessing child pornography was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life in state prison. Joseph J. Davis’ apology had no effect on Judge Tina Polachek Gartley, who expressed compassion for the jurors when they viewed video of two children being raped during the trial. Although no sound was played to the jury, Polachek Gartley said the images from the video will be forever…
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