Judge stands by non-custody credit time in resentencing
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A Scranton man convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years old in June was resentenced Wednesday due to an error in his sentencing sheet that did not reflect his total credit for time served, according to Common Pleas Court Judge James Bradley.
Bryce Alexander Phillips,
21, was ordered to serve
36 to 75 months in a state prison Monday, as well as nine years of consecutive sex offender probation and lifetime Megan’s Law registration. Phillips was given credit on the original sentencing sheet for time he already spent in prison between March 7, 2019, and April 4, 2019, when he posted 10% of $100,000 bail.
But Bradley said in court Monday that he was additionally crediting Phillips for the entire period he had been on the street after posting bail, while he was on electronic home monitoring. That part of the credit was not reflected on the sentencing sheet, the judge said Wednesday.
Bradley said it occurred to him that it was “extremely unusual” that Assistant District Attorney Dianne Gallaher had not raised a strong challenge to the wisdom or legality of the lengthy credit, which defense attorney Scott Godshall calculated at 531 days.
“I therefore checked the verbal record, and while it does reflect that I’d indicated a credit should be available not only for the time in prison but also from the date of his release from prison up until the time of sentencing, the sentencing sheet … reflects something very different and I take full responsibility for that conflict.”
Phillips was charged with forcing a 14-year-old he met in a local LGBT+ youth group to perform oral sex on him while holding himself out as a police officer. Detectives had also found images of child pornography on his phone and a Montgomery County teenager had alleged that Phillips raped her at his Springfield Township home when she was 15 years old. Gallaher said the Montgomery County allegations were folded into the Delaware County case for a global resolution.
Phillips, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, corruption of minors and impersonating a public servant, but proceeded to trial on the involuntary deviate sexual intercourse charge under a “mistake of age” defense.
A bench trial was held in early March on that count alone and Bradley handed down the guilty verdict in June.
Both victims gave impact statements Monday condemning Phillips as a manipulator who had preyed upon them when they were at their most vulnerable, a point reiterated by Gallaher in arguing for a sentence of five to 10 years with five years of probation.
Godshall argued Monday that Phillips’ autism was at the heart of his behavior, not sexual deviance, and that he had not had any further contact with law enforcement since his arrest. Phillips’ mother also spoke at length about her son’s various diagnoses, noting he had sought immediate treatment from a number of different therapists after posting bail.
Bradley said he had sentenced in the mitigated range due to Phillips’ age, the fact that this was his first and only contact with the legal system, his number of emotional and mental health issues, his cooperation in the case and the fact that he had also been a victim of sexual assault in the past.
But Bradley, realizing the sentencing sheet was wrong, said he would be remiss not to give Gallaher the opportunity to challenge the credit time, which she did Wednesday by objecting and deeming the sentence illegal.
Gallaher noted Pennsylvania statutes provide that a defendant can receive credit “for all time spent in custody,” but case law has shown that “in custody” does not refer to electronic home monitoring and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has set a “bright-line rule” to that effect.
Gallaher noted the prison term imposed is already significantly below the guideline ranges and argued that giving Phillips additional credit for time he spent on the street goes against those prior rulings.
Godshall argued that the sentence is not illegal and should stand. While he consented that home confinement is not “custody,” he said courts have been given discretion where there are “equitable factors” at play and noted many of those apply here – including the
Phillips was charged with forcing a 14-year-old he met in a local LGBT+ youth group to perform oral sex on him while holding himself out as a police officer. Detectives had also found images of child pornography on his phone and a Montgomery County teenager had alleged that Phillips raped her at his Springfield Township home when she was 15 years old. Gallaher said the Montgomery County allegations were folded into the Delaware County case for a global resolution.
reasons Bradley listed in mitigating the sentence and opting for a lengthy period of probation.
The judge said that while he agrees the case law Gallaher cited is controlling and also agrees with its proposition that courts should not consider time spent “in the comforts of home” as a credit against incarceration, he noted courts do have the ability to credit defendants with time served at an inpatient treatment facility.
“The question I think has to be asked is whether that is the essential situation where credit outside the walls of prison can be given,” Bradley said. “In this particular case, we’re dealing with a very specific type of mental issue where residential treatment is not the norm.”
The judge said Phillips had undergone “very inten
sive” outpatient treatment throughout the entire period he was awaiting trial and had done everything under the circumstances that the court could have asked of him.
“I’ve never done this before, where I’ve given credit toward a sentence other than a behind-the-bars situation, but in this case the court feels that the credit is in fact warranted and that will be the decision,” said Bradley.
The judge certified the sentence for immediate appeal. While Gallaher said she was dissatisfied with the result, she does not intend to appeal.
Phillips is expected to report to the county prison in Concord Monday to begin what remains of his incarceration period, about a year and a half at minimum. He is not eligible for early release.