J-S66041-15

*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Cour t. NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, Appellee

v. RICHARD GLENN BOWERS, Appellant : : : : : : : : : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

PENNSYLVANIA

No. 896 WDA 2015 Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered May 12 , 2015, in the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County, Criminal Division, at No(s): CP-26-CR-0000820-2009 BEFORE: OLSON, STABILE, and STRASSBURGER,* JJ. MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED NOVEMBER 19, 2015 Richard Glenn Bowers (Appellant) appeals from a ju dgment of

sentence entered in connection with his conviction for indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age. We affirm. After a jury convicted Appellant of the aforementi oned offense, the trial court sentenced Appellant to a mandatory sent ence of life in prison pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9718.2(a)(2). On appeal, Appellant argued, inter

alia , that his sentence was illegal because, at the tim e of his current offense, he had not been previously convicted of two or more offenses arising from separate criminal transactions set forth in 42 Pa.C .S. § 9795.1(a) or (b). This Court agreed, concluding that, because Appella nt had one relevant previous offense, Appellant should have been senten ced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.J-S66041-15

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§ 9718.2(a)(1). Commonwealth v. Bowers , 118 A.3d 446 (Pa. Super. 2015) (unpublished memorandum). Consequently, this Court vacated Appellant’s judgment of sentence and remanded the c ase to the trial court for resentencing under subsection 9718.2(a)(1). Id. On May 12, 2015, the trial court sentenced Appella nt consistent with this Court’s instructions. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal. The crux of Appellant’s argument on appeal is that subsectio n 9718.2(a)(1) is unconstitutional, rendering his sentence illegal. Subsection 9718.2(a)(1) provides: Any person who is convicted in any court of this Co mmonwealth of an offense set forth in section 9799.14 (relatin g to sexual offenses and tier system) shall, if at the time of the commission of the current offense the person had previously be en convicted of an offense set forth in section 9799.14 or an eq uivalent crime under the laws of this Commonwealth in effect at th e time of the commission of that offense or an equivalent crime i n another jurisdiction, be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least 25 years of total confinement, notwithstanding any oth er provision of this title or other statute to the contrary.... 42 Pa.C.S. § 9718.2(a)(1). Appellant does not dispute that he previously was convicted of a qualifying offense under this statute. Instead, he argues that subsection 9718.2(a)(1) is unconstitutional pursuant to Alleyne v. United States , 133 S.Ct. 2151 (2013) and its progeny.

In Alleyne , “the United States Supreme Court [] held that any facts leading to an increase in a mandatory minimum sente nce are elements ofJ-S66041-15

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the crime and must be presented to a jury and prove n beyond a reasonable

doubt.” Commonwealth v. Valentine , 101 A.3d 801, 809 (Pa. Super. 2014). However, this Court has explained that [p]rior convictions are the remaining exception to Apprendi v. New Jersey , 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and Alleyne v. United States . ––– U.S. ––––, 133 S.Ct. 2151, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013), insofar as a fa ct-finder is not required to determine disputed convictions beyo nd a reasonable doubt to comport with the Sixth Amendmen t jury trial right.

Commonwealth v. Hale , 85 A.3d 570, 585 n.13 (Pa. Super. 2014) (citations omitted). Thus, because the mandatory minimum sentence conta ined in subsection 9718.2(a)(1) is predicated upon prior co nvictions, Alleyne does not render it unconstitutional. Consequently, none of the issues or arguments presented by Appellant on appeal warrants relief. We therefore affirm Appellant’s judgment of sentence. Judgment of sentence affirmed.J-S66041-15

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Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. Prothonotary

Date: 11/19/2015