Commonwealth v. Hurd

39 Pa. D. & C.4th 493, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Adams County
DecidedApril 17, 1998
Docketno. CC-528-97
StatusPublished

This text of 39 Pa. D. & C.4th 493 (Commonwealth v. Hurd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Adams County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Hurd, 39 Pa. D. & C.4th 493, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998).

Opinion

SPICER, P.J.,

Private First Class Michael D. Trostel, a member of the Eastern Regional Police Department in Adams County, Pennsylvania, filed a criminal complaint on May 30,1997. He charged defendant with a number of sexual crimes, including aggravated indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S. §3125(8). That subsection makes it a felony of the second degree when “a person . . . engages in penetration, however slight, of the genitals ... of a complainant with a part of the person’s body for any purpose other than good faith medical, hygienic or law enforcement procedures . . . if: the complainant is less than 16 years of age and the person is four or more years older than the complainant and the complainant and the person are not married to each other.”

The section specifically excludes conduct covered by section 3122.1. That section reads:

“Except as provided in section 3121 (relating to rape) a person commits a felony of the second degree when that person engages in sexual intercourse with a complainant under the age of 16 years and that person is four or more years older than the complainant and the complainant and that person are not married to each other.”

Provisions defining aggravated indecent assault must be read in conjunction with definitions in section 3101, where “deviate sexual intercourse” is defined to include penetration by a foreign object, and sexual intercourse includes the oral variety. Thus, penetration under section 3125 must be construed to mean penetration with a body part, such as a finger, and not with a tongue.

The district attorney filed an information on July 29, 1997, charging defendant with numerous violations of the law. Included were Count 4, aggravated indecent assault — statutory; Count 7, corruption of minors; and [496]*496Count 8, furnishing intoxicants to a minor. At formal arraignment on that date, defendant appeared with counsel, entered pleas of not guilty to all charges and demanded a trial by jury.

A jury was selected December 8, 1997, and an in camera conference conducted concerning Rape Shield Law, §3104, issues. When defendant appeared for the commencement of the trial proper, he entered open pleas to Counts 4, 7 and 8. He was specifically notified that Count 4 required an assessment by the state sexual offenders assessment board to determine if defendant was a sexually violent predator. A presentence investigation was ordered and sentencing was deferred until March 6, 1998.

Facts presented during the plea colloquy indicated that defendant, who was 22 years old, took a 13-year-old female to a motel room during the evening of October 26, 1996 and provided her with alcoholic beverages. Temporary impotence caused by intoxication thwarted accomplishment of his goal of having sexual intercourse. Instead, he penetrated her vagina with his finger.

The record may not indicate this, but defendant did not appear for an evaluation by the board. The report provided by the court indicated that the board classified defendant as a sexually violent predator, since no evidence rebutted the statutory presumption. Both counsel were provided notice of and access to the report. By order dated February 9, 1998, the court scheduled a hearing “just prior to sentence,” to determine defendant’s status.

This apparently prompted a motion for extraordinary relief, based upon a constitutional challenge to the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. §9791 et seq., hereinafter called “Megan’s Law.”1 Ultimately, consideration of the mo[497]*497tion was also scheduled for a time prior to sentencing, by order dated March 2, 1998.

The court orally refused defendant’s motion, and also refused a request for a temporary recess to allow an interlocutory appeal. This court found no justification for interrupting normal procedure, and directed that challenges to Megan’s Law could and should be addressed through post-sentence motions. Accordingly, a hearing ensued during which defendant presented witnesses attesting to his reliability and character. Following the hearing, the court entered specific findings relating to factors described in section 9794(c). We noted that defendant had not overcome the statutory presumption by clear and convincing evidence, but that the finding would have been otherwise by a preponderance standard.

Defendant was classified as a sexually violent predator and sentenced as such.

Sentences imposed, other than those involving Megan’s Law, were as follows:

Count 4: A suspended one- to four-year sentence in a state correctional institution. Defendant was allowed to serve the sentence locally, as long as he was a suitable prisoner at Adams County Prison. Costs were imposed.

Count 7 (incorrectly typed as 5 in the order of sentencing): A fine of $100, fees and charges and four years of probation concurrent with Count 4.

Count 8 (erroneously typed as 3 in the order of sentencing): A mandatory fine of $1,000, costs and a concurrent one-year term of probation.

Counsel were notified that constitutional challenges would be considered in post-sentence motions, without defendant being required to refile explicit grounds. At first, the undersigned determined that those motions [498]*498should be determined en banc, in order to decide whether Judge John D. Kuhn’s decision in Commonwealth v. Harget, 39 Adams Co. L.J. 229 (1998), should be adopted by the entire court. However, upon reflection, this writer vacated an order for en banc consideration, after determining that the critical issue involved in the case sub judice was not considered by Judge Kuhn in Harget.

Defendant’s request for modification of the sentence imposed on Count 4 apparently is based upon a misunderstanding of how guidelines are applied. He states:

“(3) The defendants (sic) concurrent sentence on Counts III, IV and V should be modified to reflect the standard range of sentencing guidelines in effect on or about October 26, 1996, being the date that the crime was to have occurred. The standard range for aggravated indecent assault is eight to 20 months for an offender who has a prior record score of zero, which is defendant’s prior record score.”

In ¶5 of his motion, defendant argues that he should have been sentenced under mitigated ranges, but in ¶6, contends that the sentence “was excessive and over the standard range of the sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of the crime.”

Defendant’s incorrect references to counts may have been caused by the sentencing order, and should be corrected from III, IV and V, to 4, 7 and 8.

Sentencing guidelines refer to minimal sentences. All sentences were within standard ranges, and were imposed after considering a presentence investigation report. These motions are summarily denied. See Commonwealth v. Smith, 543 Pa. 566, 673 A.2d 893 (1996); Commonwealth v. Wright, 411 Pa. Super. 111, 600 A.2d 1289 (1991); Commonwealth v. Adams, 694 A.2d 353 (Pa. Super. 1997).

[499]*499It is quite evident that an appellate decision is required, and is doubtlessly forthcoming, with respect to Megan’s Law.

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Related

Commonwealth v. Wright
600 A.2d 1289 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Commonwealth v. Smith
673 A.2d 893 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1996)
Nicholson v. Combs
703 A.2d 407 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
Curtis v. Kline
666 A.2d 265 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1995)
Commonwealth v. Adams
694 A.2d 353 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)
Gus Genetti Hotel & Restaurant, Inc. v. Luzerne County
696 A.2d 1141 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
39 Pa. D. & C.4th 493, 1998 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-hurd-pactcompladams-1998.