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HomeMy WebLinkAbout99-1953 criminalCOMMONWEALTH Vo FLOYD E. BARRICK · IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF · CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA · · NO. 99-1953 CRIMINAL TERM · IN RE' OPINION PURSUANT TO PA RULE 192_5 Guido, J., August 31, 2000 On March 8, 2000, a jury found the defendant guilty of statutory sexual assault,~ 3 On April 11, 2000, he was sentenced on the indecent assault2 and corruption of minors. statutory sexual assault charge to 1 ¥2 to 7 years in a state correctional institution.4 Defendant filed timely post sentence motions in which he challenged the constitutional validity of the statutory sexual assault and indecent assault statutes under which he was convicted. He also moved to modify his sentence. On May 30, 2000, we denied his post sentence motion insofar as it attacked the constitutionality of the statutes. However, we did grant his motion to modify sentence. He was resentenced on that same date to 1 V2 to 3 years on the corruption of minors charge and to an additional 7 years of state probation on the statutory sexual assault ~ 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 3122.1. 2 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 3126(a)(8). 3 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 6301. , 4 We did not impose a sentence on the other two charges having found that they merged with the statutory sexual assault charged for sentencing purposes. 99-1953 CRIMINAL TERM charge.5 This timely appeal followed. The only issue raised on appeal is the constitutional validity of the statutory sexual assault and indecent assault statutes.6 DISCUSSION The statutes challenged by defendant provide as follows' § 3122.'1. Statutory sexual assault 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 the person are not married to each other. § 3126. Indecent assault (a) Offense defined.-A person who has indecent contact with the complainant or causes the complainant to have indecent contact with the person is guilty of indecent assault if: · · · (8) 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. Defendant argues that the statutes in question cannot survive equal protection scrutiny because they make his conduct criminal based upon the "age of the complainant and the age of the accused.''7 We disagree. Clearly the statutes create classes of victims and offenders based upon age. However, it is not unconstitutional "to treat different classes of persons in different ways," if the classification is "reasonable, not arbitrary," and "rests upon some ground of difference having a fair and substantial relation to the object of the legislation so that all 5 The Commonwealth and defendant agreed that, while the indecent assault charge merged with the statutory sexual assault for purposes of sentence, under the facts of this case, the corruption of minors charge did not merge. See sentencing colloquy of May 30, 2000. 6 Defendant's concise statement of matters complained of on appeal. 7 Defendant's Post-Sentence Motions paragraph 5. 99-1953 CRIMINAL TERM persons similarly circumstanced shall be treated alike." Moyer v. Phillips, 462 Pa. 395, 400-01, 341 A.2d 441,443 (1975). As the Superior Court noted in Commonwealth v.. Water~, 334 Pa. Super. 513,483 A.2d 855 (1984)' The Fourteenth Amendment forbids arbitrary discrimination by the states against persons or classes, but it permits the Commonwealth, as part of its police power, to create and define a criminal offense through classifications of persons so long as these classifications are reasonable and the legislation bears equally on all in the same class. 334 Pa. Super. 513,524, 483 A.2d 855,860 citing Commonwealth v. Lewis, 443 Pa. 305, 279 A.2d 26, cert. denied 404 U.S. 1003, 92 S.Ct. 571, 30 L. Ed. 2d 556 (1971). Our appellate Courts have long recognized that criminal sanctions based upon age related classifications may be appropriate. See _Commonwealth v. Waters, supra and Commonwealth v. Gautier, 431 Pa. Super. 412, 636 A.2d 1153, (1994) (statute prohibiting deviate sexual intercourse with child under 16 not violative of equal protection clause). See also Commonwealth v. Chmie!, 416 Pa. Super. 235, 610 A.2d 1058, (1992) (mandatory sentence based upon age of victim passes equal protection scrutiny). The Chmie! Court recognized that the "legislative concern with the vulnerability of youth" satisfies the "rational basis standard" articulated in _Moyer v. Phillips, supra. Commonwealth v. Chmiel, 416 Pa. Super. at 242-243, 610 A.2d at 1062. We see no meaningful distinction between the case at bar and those cited above. Therefore, we are satisfied that defendant's equal protection challenge to the statutes on the basis of age is without merit. 99-1953 CRIMINAL TERM AUGUST 3t ,2000 Edward E. Guido, J. District Attorney's Office For the Commonwealth William Braught, Esquire For the Defendant :sld DO, Ha ~:z ! I£ ~nl/