J-S66041-15 

*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. 

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P 65.37 

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, 

 Appellee 

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RICHARD GLENN BOWERS, 

 Appellant 

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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 judgment 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 aforementioned offense, the 

trial court sentenced Appellant to a mandatory sentence 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 time 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 Appellant had one relevant 

previous offense, Appellant should have been sentenced to a mandatory 

minimum sentence of 25 years in prison pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. 
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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2015) (unpublished memorandum).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 case to the trial court 

for resentencing under subsection 9718.2(a)(1). Id.

 On May 12, 2015, the trial court sentenced Appellant consistent with 

this Court’s instructions. Appellant timely filed a notice of appeal. The crux 

of Appellant’s argument on appeal is that subsection 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 Commonwealth 

of an offense set forth in section 9799.14 (relating to sexual 

offenses and tier system) shall, if at the time of the commission 

of the current offense the person had previously been convicted 

of an offense set forth in section 9799.14 or an equivalent crime 

under the laws of this Commonwealth in effect at the time of the 

commission of that offense or an equivalent crime in another 

jurisdiction, be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least 25 

years of total confinement, notwithstanding any other 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 sentence are elements of 
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the crime and must be presented to a jury and proven 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 fact-finder is 

not required to determine disputed convictions beyond a 

reasonable doubt to comport with the Sixth Amendment jury 

trial right. 

Commonwealth v. Hale, 85 A.3d 570, 585 n.13 (Pa. Super. 2014) 

(citations omitted). 

 Thus, because the mandatory minimum sentence contained in 

subsection 9718.2(a)(1) is predicated upon prior convictions, 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. 
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Judgment Entered. 

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq. 

Prothonotary 

Date: 11/19/2015