Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Law Blog

A 32-year-old Pittsburgh-area woman has been accused of fraud in an alleged baby scam, but it isn't clear yet if any existing law even covers this kind of case, officials aid.

The woman was arrested late last year at a domestic violence shelter in Kittanning under a name other than her own. She was charged at the time with theft by deception, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft of services.

Penn State University President Rodney Erickson held a town hall meeting on Jan. 11 in Pittsburgh, facing tough questions from alumni and others about sex offenses allegedly committed by Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at the school.

A number of critics indicated that they were not fully satisfied by the school president's answers about the school's response to the allegations.

The U.S. Department of Justice last week announced that it has arrested more than 60 people as part of what is described as an international identity fraud ring that spread across 17 states, including Pennsylvania.

Those arrested are accused of federal crimes involving the selling of Puerto Rican identification documents to people living in the United States.

A Catholic priest in the Pittsburgh diocese has pled not guilty to possessing thousands of child pornography images.

The 62-year-old cleric arrived at his hearing in U.S. District Court for his arraignment in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

A former English teacher at a high school less than 30 miles south of Pittsburgh was sentenced late last week to seven years of probation for sending sexually charged text messages to students.

The 30-year-old former teacher pleaded guilty in late summer to corruption of minors, criminal use of a communications device, unlawful restraint and indecent assault.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently announced its intention to change the definition of rape in its annual crime report to include males as victims. For the last 85 years, the FBI's definition of the sex crime has only included women.

Though the crime of rape is prosecuted under state law, the FBI has its own definition of crimes used in its annual crime report. The FBI's annual crime report is often used by officials as a way to measure crime trends.

The FBI's current definition of rape is the "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." The current definition does not allow for the inclusion of rape where men are the victim and such crimes are not reported as a part of the agency's statistics. For example, the alleged sex crimes involving former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky would not be counted in the agency's Uniform Crime Report. The FBI's effort is a part of a wider effort across the country to better capture information on sex crimes, particularly rape.

The FBI's new definition of rape is any kind of penetration of another person, regardless of gender, without the victim's consent. The new definition also includes a wide range of rapes involving both males and females where the transgressors use objects to penetrate the victims.

NBC reporter, Jay Gray, who was covering the sexual abuse case of Jerry Sandusky in Pennsylvania, was recently arrested on drunken driving charges after being pulled over on his way home from a party hosted by Sandusky's attorney.

Some media outlets have speculated that the reporter was attempting to win favor with the attorney in order to win an exclusive interview with Sandusky and his wife.

It came as a surprise to fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers and other NFL teams when Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was arrested on federal drug charges earlier this month.

The 26-year-old backup was accused of trying to buy a half-ton of marijuana and up to 10 kilos of cocaine. According to the criminal complaint filed in Dallas, he met with a confidential informant and an undercover federal agent.