Category: Legal/Court

NEWS RELEASE: PARSOL Responds to May 23, 2023 SCOPA Hearing in Comm. v. Torsilieri

Media Relations Contact: John Dawe, PARSOL Communication Director – media@parsol.org HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) strongly urges the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to uphold Chester County Judge Allison Bell Royer’s finding in the case of Comm. v. George Torsilieri that Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is unconstitutional.  Royer…

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PA’s Task Force on Child Pornography Report Confirms our Beliefs

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 53 of 2021 on June 30, 2021. Act 53 did two things: It enhanced the sentencing penalty on child pornography; and It established the Task Force on Child Pornography (TFCP).  The Task Force’s Recommendations The TFCP was comprised of legislators, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and psychologists. Together, they examined the sentencing of…

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PARSOL’s Response to Hampton Township Petition; SVP Concerns

[Harrisburg, PA] The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) believes all sexual abuse is unacceptable and that prevention, treatment, and healing are possible. We take a person-first approach to criminal justice reform that cultivates a fair and just society, honors an individual’s inherent dignity, and promotes respect and fairness. As such, we are compelled to weigh in on…

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A History of PA’s Registry, Part III

Those who wish to understand how Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA, Or Megan’s Law) operates today may be dismayed to learn that there are two sets of laws dictating the “who, what, when, where, and hows” of the registry.  Misinformation from law enforcement around this confusing scheme is common. Because persons forced to register (PFRs) can be…

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Judge’s Opinion Cites ‘Sex Offender’ Myths & Out-of-Context Facts

SHAME! SHAME! Judge David Porter for the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court has recently published an opinion on Lacey Stradford; et al (appellees). v. Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. The Appellees challenged the Dept. of Corrections (DOC) policy on how they determine which parolees can be released to a halfway house based on that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection…

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PARSOL Praises New Ruling that Housing Communities Cannot Ban PFRs

STROUDSBURG, Pa. – PARSOL is praising a ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court that states that a private housing development or homeowners association cannot ban persons forced to register as a ‘sex offender’ under the state’s SORNA / Megan’s Law from living within their community. Ruling in a Monroe County case, the state Commonwealth Court said a 2016 restrictive covenant…

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Neck declared an ‘Intimate Body Part’ in Latest SCOPA Ruling

WHAT? The neck’s an intimate part of the body? Since when? Since 9/29/22 by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a 5 to 2 ruling on Commonwealth v. Carl Gamby, 62 MAP 2021. They considered “whether the unwanted kissing of a person’s neck constitutes the touching of ‘sexual or other intimate parts’ for purposes of the crime of indecent assault,”…

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Attorneys Challenge Chester County Decision; What Happens Now?

The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) has learned that attorneys for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (SCOPA) in the case Commonwealth v. Torsilieri. The appeal docket number is 97 MAP 2022. But didn’t SCOPA already send this for review? That’s correct. In June 2020, SCOPA remanded the…

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PARSOL Fall Conference is 11/15 at Tree of Life Church in Harrisburg & Online! Sign up now!

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