by peter e. bortner
Jonathan M. Binns, who admitted sexually assaulting two girls in 2010 in Shenandoah, is a sexually violent predator, a Schuylkill County judge ruled Friday.
However, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin postponed sentencing Binns, 38, of Shenandoah, on the charges resulting from the assaults on the girls until he is sentenced in U.S. District Court on child pornography charges. He did not set a specific date for Binns' sentencing.
Dolbin's ruling means that Binns will be subject to lifetime Megan's Law sanctions when, and if, he ever is released from prison.
By so ruling, Dolbin accepted the recommendation of Joseph B. Sheris, Pottsville, of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, who evaluated Binns and concluded he is a sexually violent predator.
"I am fully agreeable to it because I don't want this to happen again," Binns said of his being classified as a sexually violent predator.
Binns pleaded guilty on Jan. 20 to one count each of rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault and statutory sexual assault, four of indecent assault and two of corruption of minors. Prosecutors dropped one additional count each of rape of a child and aggravated indecent assault.
State police at Frackville charged Binns with sexually assaulting the girls, who were 11 and 10 years old, between May 1, 2010, and Oct. 1, 2010.
Dolbin accepted the request of Assistant Public Defender Kent D. Watkins, Binns' lawyer, that he postpone sentencing until the defendant is sentenced in his federal case. Under the plea agreement between Binns and prosecutors, the sentence in the county case is to be concurrent with the one in the federal case, Watkins said.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer N. Lehman did not oppose Watkins' request.
Dolbin said he would conduct the sentencing by video conference.
Binns pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 in U.S. District Court in Scranton to producing child pornography. Senior U.S. District Judge Edwin M. Kosik is scheduled to sentence Binns in that case at 10 a.m. June 20 in Scranton; the defendant faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in a federal correctional institution.
Binns admitted that he took sexually explicit photographs and videos of two children in 2010, uploaded the child pornography to a computer and maintained the images on a thumb drive, according to U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith.
The Megan's Law sanctions to which Binns will be subject include requirements that he report his address, employment and educational statuses, and any change in them, to state police for the rest of his life after he leaves prison. Any failure to comply with those sanctions is a crime in itself and could result in further prosecution.
Megan's Law was enacted in Pennsylvania, numerous other states and at the federal level following the 1994 murder of Megan Nicole Kanka, 7, of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, N.J. Jesse Timmendequas, Kanka's killer, was a convicted sex offender and one of the girl's neighbors.
He is serving a life sentence following then-New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine's commutation of his death sentence after that state abolished its death penalty.Defendant: Jonathan M. Binns
Age: 38
Residence: Shenandoah
Charges: One count each of rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault and statutory sexual assault, four of indecent assault and two of corruption of minors