Category Archives: Sex Crimes
Westmoreland Man Gets Three-Year Prison Sentence After Pleading Guilty To Sexual Assault Of Teen
It is easy to use Google to convince yourself that your worst fears are about to come true. If you scroll far enough down the list of search results, you can become 99 percent certain that your headache is a brain tumor, your toddler’s tantrums are a personality disorder, and it is impossible to… Read More »
Yes, You Can Get A Prison Sentence For Failing To Register Paperwork
A man goes to prison because he did not file a form that he was supposed to file. It sounds like a nightmare out of Kafka’s imagination, but it can happen right here in Pennsylvania. For example, you can get criminal penalties for failing to file an income tax return, but most of the… Read More »
Bucks County Man Sentenced To At Least 49 Years In Prison For Sexually Assaulting Five Children
In theory, the punishment for a crime should be proportionate to the extent to which the harm the victim suffered because of it can be repaired. In cases where the crime only caused financial losses to the victims, it is possible to compensate the victims for their financial losses by ordering payment of restitution… Read More »
Evans City Man Accused Of Indecent Assault Of Teen After Registering On Megan’s List
When criminal defense lawyers discuss possible sentences for crimes, sometimes in the context of plea deals, the discussion tends to center on avoiding prison time. Criminal cases result in the defendant pleading guilty more than nine times as often as they result in the case going to trial. This is because, by pleading guilty,… Read More »
Was It Malicious Prosecution, Or Was The State Protecting Potential Victims?
United States law considers liberty a fundamental human right, and the state does not have the right to take away your liberty by detaining you in a jail or prison except as a punishment for a crime, although, in practice, there are some exceptions. Judges can decide to hold a defendant in jail until… Read More »
North Huntingdon Township Man Faces Criminal Charges For Rape Of Drinking Buddy
When you and your college classmates used to joke that a certain socially awkward guy who lived in your dorm looked like a rapist, those rumors were not only cruel; they were also wildly inaccurate. There is no one way that rapists look. In fact, the only characteristic common to the majority of rapists… Read More »
Black Creek Township Man Faces Charges For Possession Of Hundreds Of Images Of Child Sexual Abuse
Social attitudes toward sexuality have become less puritanical in recent decades, and laws have changed in accordance with this. The underlying idea is that people are free to live their sexuality as they choose, as long as in doing so, they do not harm anyone. Thus, sexuality activity between consenting adults is legal regardless… Read More »
Jury Convicts Elmhurst Man Of Sexually Abusing Preteen Girl Over A Five-Year Period
The story of this week’s case would still be horrific even if it were only an account of the allegations against the defendant. Physical acts of sexual abuse of children are traumatic enough in themselves, but there is much more to the victims’ ordeal than just the physical violence. The fear and emotional manipulation… Read More »
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Overturns Bill Cosby’s Conviction Because Prosecution Violated His Right To Due Process
Years ago, when the accusations against Bill Cosby first began to surface, people who had grown up seeing him on television in family-friendly shows were shocked. Cosby’s public persona made him the last person that people would suspect of committing sexual assault; in all his public roles, he seemed like a moral and altruistic… Read More »
Crum Lynne Man Faces Human Trafficking Charges for Confining Woman to Hotel Room and Forcing Her to Engage in Sex Work
There is a growing movement to legalize sex work, as long as the parties are consenting adults. Proponents of this reform believe that a person has the right to choose whether to trade sexual acts for money. Even those who favor decriminalizing sex work believe that sexual exploitation of others should be illegal; in… Read More »
