Opinion
J-S55002-19 No. 663 WDA 2018
11-14-2019
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA v. ALEXANDER THOMAS TAYLOR Appellant
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence April 4, 2018
In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-CR-0017134-2009 BEFORE: MURRAY, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and COLINS, J. DISSENTING MEMORANDUM BY COLINS, J.:
Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. --------
I must respectfully dissent from the well-reasoned decision of the majority that the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to show that Appellant violated a term of his probation, namely that he was discharged from required sex offender treatment. In essence, as Appellant's probation officer stated at the Gagnon II hearing, Appellant's "discharge from treatment [was] due to lack of progress, essentially." N.T., 4/4/18, at 8. Specifically, it was claimed that during a November 2017 group therapy session, Appellant disclosed that he continued to have inappropriate thoughts and feelings about sex involving minors, which led to a confrontation by the other members of his group. Id. at 4, 6. In addition, allegations were made that Appellant remained in denial regarding his pedophilia, id. at 4, 7, however, this runs counter to the evidence that he acknowledged his thoughts regarding sex with minors during his therapy sessions. No evidence was presented that Appellant had failed to attend or participate in good faith in his therapy sessions.
Without direct evidence that he otherwise violated the terms of probation, I do not believe that Appellant should be punished for honest participation in his therapy sessions. If anything, it would appear that Appellant was benefitting from therapy, albeit minimally, and that he had come to recognize the inappropriate nature of his thoughts.