Opinion
J-S10036-19 No. 1416 EDA 2018
03-22-2019
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA Appellee v. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL GUISEPPE Appellant
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered December 6, 2017
In the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-15-CR-0002010-2016, CP-15-CR-0002011-2016, CP-15-CR-0002016-2016 BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J.E., STABILE, J., and COLINS, J. MEMORANDUM BY GANTMAN, P.J.E.:
Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
Appellant, Christopher Michael Guiseppe, appeals from the judgment of sentence entered in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, following his open guilty plea to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse ("IDSI") with a child, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, aggravated indecent assault of a child, obscene or other sexual materials—dissemination to a minor, corruption of minors, and endangering the welfare of children ("EWOC"). We affirm.
18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 3123(b), 3126(a)(7), 3125(b), 5903(c)(1), 6301(a)(1)(ii), and 4304(a)(1), respectively.
In its opinion, the trial court fully and correctly sets forth the relevant facts and procedural history of this case. Therefore, we have no need to restate them. Procedurally we add, Appellant entered an open guilty plea on January 19, 2017, to seven counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, three counts each of IDSI with a child, obscene or other sexual materials—dissemination to a minor, corruption of minors, and EWOC, and one count of aggravated indecent assault of a child. The court sentenced Appellant on December 6, 2017, to an aggregate term of fifty-five (55) to one hundred ten (110) years' incarceration, plus five (5) years' probation. The court also notified Appellant of his requirement to register and report for life as a Tier III sex offender under the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA"). Subsequently, the trial court denied Appellant's post-sentence motion in an order dated March 26, 2018, and mailed to the parties on March 29, 2018.
Appellant raises one issue for our review:
WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING [APPELLANT]'S MOTION TO WITHDRAW HIS GUILTY PLEA PRIOR TO BEING SENTENCED[?](Appellant's Brief at 4).
After a thorough review of the record, the briefs of the parties, the applicable law, and the well-reasoned opinion of the Honorable Phyllis R. Streitel, we conclude Appellant's issue merits no relief. The trial court opinion comprehensively discusses and properly disposes of the question presented. ( See Trial Court Opinion, filed June 26, 2018, at 10-24) (finding: testimony at hearing on Appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea established credibly that video recording of Appellant's police interview accurately reflected his live interview with police, where DVDs containing recording of interview were neither altered nor alterable; Appellant participated in interview and knew what he had told police; further, Appellant's allegation of innocence was implausible; in police interview, Appellant confessed to crimes and gave detailed accounts of his abuse of Victims; in individual interviews with police, Victims corroborated Appellant's accounts). The record supports the court's decision. Accordingly, we affirm based on the trial court opinion.
We depart from the trial court's analysis to the extent it appears to address portions of Appellant's challenge on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Even if Appellant raised his claims of plea counsel's ineffectiveness in the trial court and the court addressed them in its opinion, Appellant did not make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of review per the Post Conviction Relief Act ("PCRA"), at 42 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 9541-9546. Absent Appellant's waiver, we refuse to entertain his claims under the rubric of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal and defer them instead for review in a timely PCRA petition. See Commonwealth v. Holmes , 621 Pa. 595, 598-99, 79 A.3d 562, 563-64 (2013); Commonwealth v. Grant , 572 Pa. 48, 813 A.2d 726 (2002) and its progeny.
Judgment of sentence affirmed. Judgment Entered. /s/_________
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary Date: 3/22/19
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