Unequal justice
Former state police trooper Douglas N. Sversko was sentenced recently to house arrest and ordered to register with the state Megan’s Law registry after pleading guilty to a charge stemming from revelations that he had exposed himself on a webcam while communicating with an individual he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Prosecutors have managed to include jail time for convicts caught in the exact same net and accused of the exact same crime as Sversko, including a Westmoreland County man — with only a prior DUI arrest in his record.
It is the latest in a number of developments in the case that do not reflect swift and equal justice under the law.
Sversko was not on the Megan’s Law list, a registry managed by the state police.
Sversko was not arrested until 11 months after he was caught dancing naked on the web cam. The charges were filed only after Tom Corbett, the attorney general at the time the crime came to light, was ensconced in the governor’s mansion.
After confirming Sversko owned the Internet account used in the alleged exchange, investigators waited a full year before doing anything more. The day of his arrest, Sversko admitted that he had videos of child pornography that had been evidence in a case he had investigated as a trooper.
“By having that child pornography at his home,” a state police spokesman said shortly after Sversko’s arrest, “he also violated the law.”
No one has explained why Sversko has not been charged with possession of child pornography or theft of evidence.
The inaction on the child porn charge is significant because stealing evidence would be the sort of crime that could cost Sversko his state police pension.
Pension forfeiture is triggered when a state employee uses a government position to commit the crime.
A spokesman said the attorney general has no intention of filing charges related to the stolen evidence. Union County District Attorney Pete Johnson said he was not aware of the allegation.
It was really no secret. It was in the newspaper.
The Sversko case automatically invites a comparison of how justice for public officials and employees matches justice for civilians. Our society declares it should be the same.
In allowing Sversko to avoid jail and keep his public pension, the courts have set a disappointing precedent and egregiously low bar for future creeps caught in similar sting operations.
The (Sunbury) Daily Item