In the Interest of C.O.

84 A.3d 726, 2014 Pa. Super. 1, 2014 WL 26997, 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 3, 2014
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 84 A.3d 726 (In the Interest of C.O.) 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
In the Interest of C.O., 84 A.3d 726, 2014 Pa. Super. 1, 2014 WL 26997, 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1 (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION BY

MUSMANNO, J.:

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania appeals from the juvenile court’s Order suppressing the statements made by C.O. We affirm.

The juvenile court has set forth the relevant underlying factual history as follows, in pertinent part:

On February 3, 2011, in three separate cases, [C.O.] made voluntary, counseled admissions to committing felony sex offenses, including sexual abuse of children, indecent assault, and multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, against three ... children. Based on the admissions, plus information concerning [C.O.] that was provided during the hearing at which the admissions were accepted, [the juvenile court] adjudicated [C.O.] delinquent and immediately imposed disposition. [C.O.] was placed in the temporary legal custody of Monroe County Children and Youth Services (“MCCYS”), under the supervision of the Monroe County Juvenile Probation Office (“JPO”), for placement at La-Sa-Quik.
La-Sa-Quik is a residential treatment facility for adolescent male sex offenders between the ages of twelve and one-half and eighteen. It is licensed as a community based program. The facility is neither staffed nor supervised by psychiatrists or licensed psychologists. Rather, staff and treatment team members hold a variety of bachelor and associate degrees. There are some licensed social workers. All therapists and counselors receive industry standard training, are required to obtain sex offender treatment certification, and are mandated reporters. [Staff members of La-Sa-Quik are mandated child abuse reporters who must report to Child Line any abuse disclosed by juveniles who are placed at the facility.]
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La-Sa-Quik is not a secure juvenile facility. However, since juveniles are court ordered to the program they are not free to leave the facility. Juveniles are supervised twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week.
When juveniles are placed at La-Sa-Quik, they are required to sign and acknowledge notices of the facility’s confidentiality and privacy practices, including the Confidentiality Standards for [the parent company of La-Sa-Quick,] Adelphoi Village (“Confidentiality Standards”). The Confidentiality Standards explain the limits of confidentiality pertaining to disclosures as follows: “However, I understand that if I discuss or disclose crimes that I have committed, or situations that involve [729]*729physical, sexual, or emotional abuse that are unreported, the Adelphoi Village staff are mandated to inform the appropriate authorities.” The Confidentiality Standards form does not specify that disclosures will be shared with law enforcement or the district attorney’s office, nor does it state that disclosures may be used as incriminating evidence in criminal or juvenile proceedings. [C.O.] signed a Confidentiality Standards form on October 10, 2011.
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Consistent with their training and with general sex offender treatment standards, counselors at La-Sa-Quik teach that honesty and full disclosure of victims and offending history is the best policy. According to both [Christopher Moser (“Moser”), the clinical supervisor at La-Sa-Quik, and Karen Choate-Bas-sett (“Bassett”), a therapist at La-Sa-Quik], disclosure of previously undisclosed victims is essential to treatment because it helps hold [juveniles] accountable and it also helps [the authorities] get the victim the help they need. Juveniles are also counseled to participate in treatment so that when they graduate^] the juveniles won’t have any skeletons in their closet that may come back later to haunt them [by] another victim coming forward and leaving a black mark on the treatment they received or resulting in additional charges. The juveniles need to ... get everything in order while they’re with La-Sa-Quik to avoid any future repercussions to the victim or to them.
[C.O.] entered La-Sa-Quik on March 1, 2011. He had a difficult time adjusting to the La-Sa-Quik program and sex offender treatment modalities.... [ ] Mos-er stated that ... [C.O.] did not complete the clinical assignments assigned by his counselor and was having difficulty engaging in group sessions and sharing information in individual sessions. Similarly, the court report prepared for [C.O.’s] first placement and dispositional review hearing indicated that [C.O.’s] performance in individual counseling was unsatisfactory, that he wasn’t [communicating] openly with his counselors, that he recently expressed that he no longer had a problem, that his largest stumbling block was his belief he no longer needed treatment to address his offending, and that, in general, he was not progressing. Accordingly, the report indicated that treatment would focus on getting [C.O.] to take ownership. On July 28, 2011, a placement review hearing was held. At that time, as the referenced court report indicated, [C.O.] ... was floundering. In an effort to inform, guide, motivate, challenge, and be honest with [C.O.], the [juvenile court] spoke openly to [C.O.]. Among other things, concern was expressed over [C.O.’s] lack of progress. The balanced and restorative justice concepts of accountability, community protection, and competency development were explained, generally and in the context of [C.O.’s] particular case and situation. In addition, [C.O.] was told that, in order to be released, he needed to invest in his treatment, pick up his game, make progress, complete the program, and demonstrate that he is no longer a danger to others. The [juvenile court] extracted a promise from [C.O.] to listen, be compliant, and work hard at treatment.
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On November 9, 2011, during a scheduled individual counseling session, [C.O.] disclosed to [ ] Bassett that he had sexually abused a fourth child victim. [ ] Bassett told [C.O.] that she was a man[730]*730dated reporter and that she would have to report the abuse and the victim to Child Line. She asked [C.O.] who the victim was, where the offense happened, how often sexual contact occurred, and how he gained the victim’s trust. She then asked [C.O.] to fill out and sign a Sexual Offender Disclosure Form describing the offense. [C.O.] complied.
When [ ] Bassett instructed [C.O.] to fill out the form, she did not, formally or informally, advise him of his legal rights or options. She did not tell him that he could decline to complete the form or that he could end the session. She did not advise him that he could face new charges, that what he said could be used against him in court, or that he had a right to speak with an attorney. Similarly, [C.O.] was not given the opportunity to call his father or his attorney.
[] Bassett processed the disclosures in accordance with legal reporting requirements and La-Sa-Quik protocols. After the disclosures were made, [] Bassett contacted [C.O.’s] family, [C.O.’s] probation officer, and [] Moser. She also called Child Line to report the disclosure and the [fourth child] victim....
Child Line turned the disclosure over to MCCYS, the agency in whose temporary legal custody [the juvenile court] placed [C.O.] for purposes of placing him at La-Sa-Quik. [Carolyn Reviello (“Re-viello”) ], a supervisor at the agency, received [C.O.’s] case and conducted the investigation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
84 A.3d 726, 2014 Pa. Super. 1, 2014 WL 26997, 2014 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-co-pasuperct-2014.