Sex offender sues Delco prison, claims illegal detention

8-20-15 Pennsylvania:

MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> A Clifton Heights man is seeking damages of more than $75,000 for what he contends was an illegal detention at George Hill Correctional Facility in Concord following his conviction on child pornography charges.

John Marchetti has alleged claims for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, violations of due process, cruel and unusual punishment and failure to train against the county, as well as state and local corrections officers.

Prison Solicitor Bob Diorio said he had not been served with notice of the suit as of Wednesday and could not comment. Laura Treaster, an information specialist with the state Board of Probation and Parole, likewise said her office had not been served but that she would be unable to comment on pending litigation.

Marchetti entered a “no contest” plea to one count of sexual abuse of children for possessing child pornography on Feb. 17, 2009 and was sentenced to two to 23 months in prison, according to court records. He was also sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to driving while under the influence and reckless endangerment in an unrelated case. He was resentenced to 18 to 36 months in January 2012 for a probation violation.

The complaint, filed last week in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by attorney Matthew Weisberg, indicates Marchetti completed his child pornography sentence on or about March 29, 2014.

That sentence required Marchetti to enroll in and complete a sexual offender’s program at the prison and “comply with general rules and regulations governing probation and/or parole,” according to court records. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, but the complaint claims the sentence imposed no sex offender probation or parole requirements.

According to a recording of the 2012 probation violation hearing, however, Judge Patricia Jenkins informed Marchetti that: “During your periods of parole and probation, you must comply with the standard rules of adult probation and parole and, in addition, with the special rules that are enumerated in an order bearing today’s date regarding sexual offenders.”

A copy of that order was not immediately available Wednesday.

The complaint indicates an Altoona parole agent and Chester Adult Probation and Parole Officer Newt Condict refused to allow Marchetti to leave the state correctional institution at Laurel Highlands without accepting additional sexual-abuse related probation requirements.

Two days prior to his release from prison, Marchetti claims the defendants secured a probation violation and detainer against him, then placed him in solitary confinement for one week over his protestations that it would trigger his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Marchetti was then transferred to the county prison in Concord, where he was held in solitary for “several more weeks without any reasonable basis,” according to the complaint.

After his removal from solitary, Marchetti claims he was placed into an area of the prison reserved for mentally unstable prisoners for three weeks, where his allegedly HIV-positive bunkmate smeared the walls with bodily fluids.

The complaint indicates Marchetti was held a total of four months past the maximum of his sexual abuse sentence and suffered a relapse of PTSD. He was released in July 2014 only after signing documents agreeing to additional sex offender probation requirements. Marchetti initially refused to sign, but was told he would not be released without doing so, according to the complaint.

Marchetti says he now lives in fear that he will be returned to the prison on some false pretext that he violated the sex offender requirements of his probation. He has previously claimed to be a target of law enforcement due to his civil rights advocacy organization, Citizens Against Abusive Power Systems.

The complaint is seeking statutory and compensatory damages for financial loss, physical injuries and emotional distress. Marchetti is also seeking costs associated with bringing suit, and injunctive relief in the form of training and monitoring of prison officials. ..Source.. by Alex Rose covers court proceedings for the Daily Times.