Allegheny County will start new court to oversee sex crimes
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Allegheny County plans to open a new court program June 23 for people charged with sexual offenses, intended to expedite cases and increase the accountability of convicted sex offenders, officials announced Wednesday.
The sexual offender court will be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and a pilot for the rest of the state, said State Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd. Similar courts exist in New York and Ohio.
"If indeed the recidivism rate is lower ... the Supreme Court intends to look into expanding this program," Judge Todd said.
Officials expect sex offender court to handle five to eight cases for its first month, eventually expanding to encompass the cases of about 300 defendants. The cases will be overseen by three Common Pleas judges: President Judge Donna Jo McDaniel, Judge Jill Rangos and Judge Thomas Flaherty.
Unlike the county's much-lauded "problem-solving courts" -- such as DUI court and mental health court, which focus first on therapeutic goals -- sex offender court will focus first on accountability, said Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Manning, administrative judge of the court's criminal division.
"These guys will know that if they step out of line, they'll end up back in prison," said District Attorney Stephen Zappala.
Defendants will be shuttled into Allegheny County's program if they are held for court for a Megan's Law sexual offense, such as rape, sexual assault, luring a child and more, said Deputy District Attorney Laura Ditka.
Once in the program, a defendant should appear before one of the judges for a pre-trial conference within 45 to 60 days of their preliminary hearing, Judge Manning said. The conference should be followed by a trial or a plea within 90 days, he said.
Typically, such cases could take one and a half to two years to move through the justice system, Judge McDaniel said.
If convicted and sentenced to probation, defendants will remain under the purview of sex offender court for the duration of their probation, subject to a four-phase compliance program and a court review every 90 days, Judge Manning said.
The program is modeled after a similar project in Erie County, New York, where Buffalo is located. Officials involved in planning Allegheny County's project visited Buffalo twice, in November and April, to study the court, and they were impressed with what they saw, they said.
First Published May 4, 2011 12:00 pm
