Articles

In Pennsylvania, an individual who is convicted of a sexually violent offense must be assessed before sentencing to determine if the individual should be designated as a “sexually violent predator” (SVP). After the assessment, a hearing is then held in which the Commonwealth must prove to the court, by clear and convincing evidence, that the […]

In the summer of 2005, Kenneth Maconeghy Jr. allegedly raped and sexually abused an 11 year girl who he cared for while her mother was at work. Maconeghy was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the child while supervising her. The victim alleged that Maconeghy purposefully removed her siblings from the situation to isolate her and […]

This summer the Supreme Court decided that states cannot prevent or restrict sex offenders from utilizing social networking sites. In an effort to limit sex offenders from interacting with potential victims, states such as North Carolina have enacted laws making it a felony for convicted sex offenders to access “commercial social networking” websites that have […]

Last September, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a startling decision that expanded the state’s child molestation law to criminalize any contact between an adult and a child’s genitals. Molestation of a child under the statute consisted of “intentionally or knowingly engaging in or causing a person to engage in sexual contact with a child under […]

In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that sex offenders who commit certain crimes must commit a subsequent offense following their conviction for the first offense before they can be made to register as sex offenders for life. In A.S. v. Pennsylvania State Police, the Court discussed the proper construction of the […]