Superior Court upholds Masontown woman’s sexual assault conviction
The state Superior Court upheld the conviction of a Masontown woman charged with sexual abuse of children.
On Oct. 21, 2015, Tracy L. Kennedy, 49, was sentenced in Greene County Court to eight to 16 years in prison after a jury found her guilty of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault and indecent assault.
In her appeal, Kennedy claimed her sentence was too harsh.
Superior Court President Judge Emeritus John T. Bender stated in his opinion that Kennedy failed to challenge her sentence at her sentencing hearing and failed to file a post-sentence motion to present the claim to a Greene County judge.
Bender stated that even if Kennedy had done those things, he concluded that the judge did not abuse his discretion in handing down her sentence.
“The court had the benefit of a pre-sentence report and ultimately imposed a standard-range term of incarceration,” Bender wrote.
He went on to write that Kennedy’s argument is belied by her conduct throughout her trial, and statements at her sentencing hearing demonstrated she has mental health issues that require treatment in “a therapeutic setting” rather than prison.
“However, (Kennedy) did not present any evidence at the sentencing hearing to establish that she has been diagnosed with mental health issues, aside from her own testimony that she is on various medications,” Bender’s opinion stated.
Bender concluded that because Kennedy didn’t fully explain or present evidence to support her claim that she had mental health issues, she cannot challenge her sentence on that basis and upheld the sentencing.
Kennedy remains lodged in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy.