Com. v. Singh, B.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 30, 2026
Docket996 EDA 2025
StatusUnpublished
AuthorLazarus

This text of Com. v. Singh, B. (Com. v. Singh, B.) 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. Singh, B., (Pa. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

J-A12020-26

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : BALWINDER SINGH : : Appellant : No. 996 EDA 2025

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered October 23, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-23-CR-0002481-2023

BEFORE: LAZARUS, P.J., SULLIVAN, J., and STEVENS, P.J.E. *

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, P.J.: FILED JUNE 30, 2026

Balwinder Singh appeals from his judgment of sentence, entered in the

Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, after he was convicted, following

a jury trial, of one count each of unlawful contact with a minor—sexual

offenses,1 indecent assault—person less than 13 years of age, 2 corruption of

minors—defendant age 18 or above, 3 and endangering the welfare of children

(EWOC).4 After careful review, we affirm.

____________________________________________

* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

1 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 6318(a)(1).

2 Id. at § 3126(a)(7).

3 Id. at § 6301(a)(1)(ii).

4 Id. at § 4304(a)(1). J-A12020-26

Singh, the former head priest of the Philadelphia Sikh Society (the

Temple) in Millbourne Delaware County, sexually assaulted a then-minor 5

female member of the Temple (victim) on multiple occasions when she was

between the ages of five and twelve. See N.T. Jury Trial, 7/9/24, at 126

(victim testifying Singh inappropriately touched her “many times throughout

[her] childhood”); id. at 129 (same); id. at 129-30 (victim testifying Singh

“touched” her more than 10 times); id. 7/11/24, at 15 (sexual abuse forensic

interviewer testifying victim told her Singh inappropriately touched her over

50 times). The victim alleged that Singh touched her pubic area, breasts,

thighs, and back over and under her clothing and underwear. The criminal

behavior occurred in one of the Temple’s classrooms (Classroom) when the

victim was taking religious music lessons6 and in a storage closet in an

adjoining room where visiting priests would stay overnight in the Temple

(Bedroom). Id., 7/10/26, at 172 (video playback describing Temple rooms

where victim abused by Singh).

The victim’s two cousins were frequently in the classroom, sitting only

feet away from the victim, when Singh committed the alleged acts. Id. at

133 (victim testifying her cousins were “sometimes” present in the classroom

when Singh inappropriately touched her); id. at 96, 100 (victim testifying her ____________________________________________

5 The victim was born in November 2001.

6 Singh taught the victim to play the harmonium, a specialized instrument of

the Indian culture that includes a keyboard. Singh and the victim would sit next to each other on the floor of the classroom with the instrument in front of them. See N.T. Jury Trial, 7/9/24, at 131; id., 7/10/24, at 59-60.

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cousins, but no one else, were “frequently” present when she was abused).

The door to the Classroom was often open, but always unlocked, and people

would go in and out of the room during the lessons. See id., 7/11/24, at 29,

184 (victim’s cousin testifying Classroom door was “not always” open, but

“was [] unlocked so anyone could just come in if they wanted”); id., 7/10/24,

at 56-58; id. at 56 (victim testifying, on cross-examination, that “there were

people that came in and out” of the music room during lessons). “Every once

in a while,” a drummer would be part of the music lesson. See id., 7/11/26,

at 189.

In January 2014, when the victim was in seventh grade, she reported

the alleged abuse to her middle school counselor, a mandated reporter, who

reported the allegations to ChildLine. 7 Id., 7/9/24, at 136, 151; id., 7/10/24,

at 13. A Childline report was sent to the Sexual Abuse Center (SAC) in Media,

a division of Delaware County Children and Youth Services. The school also

contacted the victim’s parents to apprise them of the alleged assault. See

id., 7/11/24, at 7. On January 27, 2014, Crystal Valdez, a SAC caseworker,

7 ChildLine “is part of a mandated state-wide child protective services program

designed to accept child abuse referrals and general well-being concerns.” https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/keep-kids-safe/report-child- abuse (last visited 5/6/26). After ChildLine receives information of possible abuse or neglect, it is “transmitted quickly to the appropriate investigating agency.” Id.

-3- J-A12020-26

conducted a forensic interview8 with the victim at the SAC after receiving the

ChildLine report.9 Id., 7/10/24, at 134, 184-85, 190.

Following this report, the victim, the victim’s parents, and several

Temple leaders met at the Temple to discuss the allegations. The victim’s

mother testified that, after the school counselor told her about the victim’s

alleged abuse, she attended several meetings at which Temple leaders were

present. Two of the meetings were held at the home of the Temple president,

Durham Singh, and the home of the victim’s aunt and uncle. Id. at 90-91;

id., 7/11/24, at 10, 12. Singh denied the allegations. See id. at 92 (victim’s

Mother testifying Singh said, “I did not do that”); see also id. at 168, 177

(Temple president testifying everyone at meetings believed what was being

alleged was “misunderstanding”). The victim’s father testified that Temple

officials told him at the meetings that Singh would be fired from the Temple

within a couple months. Id. at 145. However, he was not fired until after the

filing of the criminal complaint in 2023. Id. The victim’s mother testified that

8 Detective Mark Bucci, a detective in the criminal investigation division of the

Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, was also present at this interview, albeit behind a two-way mirror. See N.T. Jury Trial, 7/10/24, at 18, 43, 134, id., 7/11/24, at 207. Detective Bucci worked primarily with child abuse cases; the ChildLine report was ultimately sent to his investigative division. See id., 7/11/24, at 200, 205. The interview was audio-recorded and played for the jury at trial. Id., 7/10/24, at 141-43. See id. at 143-79.

9 Valdez also briefly met with the victim at her school on January 9, 2024. Id., 7/10/24, at 129. Valdez described this as a “preliminary interview” where caseworkers assess the alleged victim’s safety and talk to them briefly to build rapport in an informal setting. See id., at 8, 13-17, 182, 185.

-4- J-A12020-26

she felt pressured during the meetings, was told by Temple officials that “it’s

not good for the religion,” and, ultimately, went to a lawyer’s office, where

she agreed to sign an document “to [not] proceed [with] the case.” See id.,

7/11/24, at 14-17, 20-21. The Temple president denied allegations that the

Temple agreed to do something for the victim’s parents in exchange for

withdrawing the criminal complaint. See id. at 177.

After the victim’s report of the sexual abuse, the Temple installed video

cameras in the music and worship rooms and the dining area. See

Supplemental Narrative of Detective James Young Simpkins, Jr., 7/8/24, at

14. The victim “eventually stopped going” to the Temple for music lessons in

2014, after reporting the abuse to her school counselor. N.T. Jury Trial,

7/10/24, at 62. The victim’s mother told Detective Bucci that she wanted to

“take [the] complaint back” and go no further with the investigation. Id.,

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