Commonwealth v. Sansone, M.

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, : No. 555 MAL 2024 :

Respondent :

: Petition for Allowance of Appeal : from the Unpublished v. : Memorandum and Order of the : Superior Court at No. 961 MDA : 2023 entered on October 7, 2024, MICHAEL L. SANSONE, : affirming the PCRA Order of the : Luzerne County Court of Common Petitioner : Pleas at No. CP-40-CR-0002413-

: 2016 entered on June 28, 2023

ORDER

PER CURIAM DECIDED: March 18, 2025

AND NOW, this 18th day of March, 2025, Petition for Allowance of Appeal is

GRANTED. Further, the decision of the Superior Court is VACATED and the case is

REMANDED for the Superior Court to reassess Petitioner’s ineffectiveness claim. See,

Commonwealth v. Maconeghy, 171 A.3d 707, 713, 715 (Pa. 2017) (holding “that expert

testimony opining that a child has been sexually abused⎯which is predicated on

witness accounts and not physical findings⎯is inadmissible” and acknowledging “no

material distinction between direct vouching (e.g., “I believe the complainant is telling

the truth’) and indirect vouching (e.g., ‘I conclude that the complainant was sexually

assaulted based upon the history she related.’”)).