Sean Dickson
The Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned the conviction of Sean Dickson for Endangering the Welfare of a Child in a decision released January 2.
Dickson was originally charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver cocaine, Possession, and four counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child from an incident in January, 2018, when police executed a search warrant on his Kittanning residence.
At Dickson’s trial, Judge Chase McClister dismissed three of the endangering counts, and the jury found him not guilty of the possession with intent charge. The jury also found him guilty of one count of endangering and possession.
Attorney Pascal
Public Defender Chuck Pascal appealed the endangering conviction, arguing that District Attorney Katie Charlton failed to prove several required elements of the charge, including that the presence of cocaine in a locked box endangered the child.
The Superior Court, in a decision written by Senior Judge Dan Pellegrini, and joined by Senior Judge Emeritus John Bender and Judge Deborah Kunselman, agreed, saying “we agree with Dickson’s contention that the mere possession of controlled substances located in items locked and/or inaccessible to a child does not, by itself, threaten the child’s physical or psychological welfare.”
Pascal said that Dickson was “severely over-charged in this case, and I’m thankful that the court corrected this injustice. I contended all along that the only legitimate charge in this case was possession, and that’s exactly where we ended up-after two years.”
Pascal said that Dickson has already served most of his 10 to 24 month sentence on the charge that has now been dismissed. “It’s a shame that the court can’t give Mr. Dickson back the time he has wrongfully served, but at least the felony conviction will be erased from his record.”