Com. v. Perez, E.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 27, 2025
Docket2537 EDA 2022
StatusUnpublished

This text of Com. v. Perez, E. (Com. v. Perez, E.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. v. Perez, E., (Pa. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

J-E01001-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : EDUARDO PEREZ : : Appellant : No. 2537 EDA 2022

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered September 22, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0000824-2017

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : EDUARDO PEREZ : : Appellant : No. 2538 EDA 2022

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered September 22, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-51-CR-0000825-2017

BEFORE: LAZARUS, P.J., BOWES, J., PANELLA, P.J.E., DUBOW, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., KING, J., SULLIVAN, J., BECK, J., and LANE, J.

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, P.J.: FILED AUGUST 27, 2025

Eduardo Perez appeals from the judgments of sentence, 1 entered in the

Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, following his convictions at

____________________________________________

1 On October 7, 2022, Perez filed two timely notices of appeal, each of which

included both of the above-captioned docket numbers, CP-51-CR-0000824- 2017 (No. 824-2017) and CP-51-CR-0000825-2017 (No. 825-2017), in (Footnote Continued Next Page) J-E01001-25

No. 824-2017 of one count each of rape of a child, 2 involuntary deviate sexual

intercourse (IDSI),3 unlawful contact with a minor, 4 endangering welfare of

children (EWOC),5 and indecent assault – person less than 13 years of age,6

and at No. 825-2017 of one count each of unlawful contact with a minor,

EWOC, and indecent assault – person less than 13 years of age. After careful

review, we affirm.

violation of our Supreme Court’s dictates in Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969 (Pa. 2018) (requiring appellants to file separate notices of appeal when a single order resolves issues arising on more than one lower court docket). But see Commonwealth v. Young, 265 A.3d 462 (Pa. 2021) (permitting appellate court to allow for correction when timely appeal is erroneously filed at only one docket); Pa.R.A.P. 902 (stating that “[f]ailure of [an appellant] to take any step other than the timely filing of a notice of appeal does not affect the validity of the appeal, but the appeal is subject to such action as the appellate court deems appropriate, which may include, but is not limited to, remand of the matter to the lower court so that the omitted procedural step may be taken.”). Thus, on February 6, 2024, this Court issued an Order directing Perez to file amended notices of appeal, one at each docket, in compliance with Walker and Young. On February 23, 2024, Perez filed compliant notices of appeal. We have corrected the caption accordingly.

Additionally, on January 11, 2023, Perez filed an application to consolidate these appeals, which this Court granted on August 18, 2023. See Pa.R.A.P. 513.

2 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3121(c).

3 Id. at § 3123(a)(1).

4 Id. at § 6318(a)(1).

5 Id. at § 4304(a)(1).

6 Id. at § 3126(a)(7).

-2- J-E01001-25

In light of the procedural history of this case, we briefly summarize the

events leading up to trial. In the summer of 2016, D.M. and C.R. (both 7-

year-old children at the time of the incidents) were best friends and lived

across the street from one another. D.M. and C.R. would frequently sleep

over at each other’s houses. C.R. lived with her grandmother, mother,

younger brother, and Perez, C.R.’s stepfather. When D.M. would sleep over

at C.R.’s house, they slept in either the bedroom with C.R.’s grandmother or

in C.R.’s younger brother’s bedroom. Perez’s bedroom was located down the

hall from both bedrooms.

Several months after the summer of 2016, D.M. disclosed to her mother

that, during the sleepovers at C.R.’s house, Perez had, over the course of the

summer, watched D.M. change into her bathing suit; entered the bedroom,

took off D.M.’s nightgown, and touched her vagina; inserted his penis into

D.M.’s vagina; kissed both girls; and touched both girls’ vaginas with his penis.

D.M.’s mother took her to the hospital and D.M. submitted to interviews

with various personnel from the Philadelphia Department of Human Services

(DHS). In addition, Carolina Castano, an employee of the Philadelphia

Children’s Alliance (PCA) trained in performing forensic interviews with child

sexual abuse victims, conducted a video-recorded interview of D.M. in which

D.M. discussed the abuse.

Based upon D.M.’s reports, Sharina Johnson, a DHS investigator, met

with C.R. twice at C.R.’s home. C.R. denied that Perez had abused her. C.R.

also denied the occurrence of any abuse during a PCA forensic interview. On

-3- J-E01001-25

December 14, 2016, Johnson interviewed C.R. an additional time, at her

school, at which point C.R. admitted to having been abused by Perez. After

this interview, DHS recommended that C.R. see a child abuse expert. On

December 21, 2016, Dr. Maria McColgan, a pediatrician specializing in child

abuse cases, conducted a physical examination of C.R., during which C.R.

made statements to Dr. McColgan about Perez and the abuse.

On December 31, 2016, Perez was arrested and charged at No. 824-

2017 with respect to the alleged abuse of D.M., and at No. 825-2017 with

respect to the alleged abuse of C.R. The Commonwealth filed a motion to

consolidate the cases, which the Honorable Glynnis Hill granted. Judge Hill

presided over Perez’s first trial.

Prior to his first trial, and relevant to the instant appeal, Perez filed a

pretrial motion in which he challenged Dr. McColgan’s testimony as hearsay

without an exception. Specifically, Perez argued that Dr. McColgan’s

testimony was inadmissible under Pa.R.E. 803(4), pertaining to medical

diagnosis and treatment hearsay exception, because C.R.’s statements to Dr.

McColgan were made in anticipation of litigation and at least some of the

statements were not made for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of C.R.

Judge Hill conducted a pretrial hearing, after which he denied Perez’s motion.

On June 19-22, 2018, Perez proceeded to a jury trial, at which, inter

alia, D.M., D.M.’s mother, Johnson, Castano, and Dr. McColgan testified for

the Commonwealth. C.R., who was living in another state with her biological

father at the time of trial, did not testify. Nevertheless, Dr. McColgan testified

-4- J-E01001-25

regarding C.R.’s description of the abuse pursuant to the medical diagnosis

treatment exception to the hearsay rule. See Pa.R.E. 803(4). The

Commonwealth also played for the jury a video recording of Castano’s PCA

interview of D.M. pursuant to the Tender Years Hearsay Act (TYHA). See 42

Pa.C.S.A. § 5985.1. Perez did not testify.

At the conclusion of the June 19-22, 2018 trial, the jury found Perez

guilty of the above-stated offenses. On November 9, 2018, the trial court

sentenced Perez to an aggregate period of 14 to 28 years’ incarceration,

followed by 5 years’ probation. Perez filed a timely post-sentence motion,

which was denied by operation of law. Subsequently, Perez filed a timely

notice of appeal to this Court. See Commonwealth v. Perez, 241 A.3d 454

(Pa. Super. 2020) (Table).

On appeal before this Court, Perez argued, inter alia, that the trial court

erred in allowing Dr. McColgan to testify that C.R. had identified Perez as the

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