J-S30011-17
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Appellee
v.
RONALD FRANK,
Appellant No. 1662 MDA 2016
Appeal from the PCRA Order September 12, 2016
In the Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County
Criminal Division at No(s): CP-21-CR-0002091-2009, CP-21-CR-0002094-
2009
BEFORE: SHOGAN, RANSOM, and MUSMANNO, JJ.
JUDGMENT ORDER BY SHOGAN, J.: FILED JULY 18, 2017
Appellant, Ronald Frank, appeals from the order entered in the
Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas dismissing his second petition
filed under the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541-
9546. Following a bench trial on stipulated facts, Appellant was found guilty
of numerous sexual offenses against four minor male victims he met while
working as a crossing guard at a middle school. The court sentenced
Appellant to an aggregate term of imprisonment of fifteen to thirty years,
and this Court affirmed the judgment of sentence. Commonwealth v.
Frank, 26 A.3d 1207, 1446 MDA 2010 (Pa. Super. 2011) (unpublished
memorandum).
J-S30011-17
Appellant filed a pro se PCRA petition on April 22, 2014, and counsel
was appointed. The PCRA court dismissed the petition as untimely on
November 6, 2014. This Court affirmed on February 3, 2016, concluding
that the petition was untimely and no exception to the time-bar was pleaded
or proven. Commonwealth v. Frank, 141 A.3d 586 (Pa. Super. 2016)
(unpublished memorandum). Appellant filed a petition for allowance of
appeal on February 22, 2016.
While the petition for allowance of appeal was pending in our Supreme
Court, Appellant filed the instant second pro se PCRA petition on July 24,
2016. The PCRA court dismissed the petition on September 12, 2016.1
Appellant filed the instant appeal on October 2, 2016, a concise statement of
errors pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925 on October 27, 2016, and the PCRA court
filed a memorandum opinion on November 30, 2016.
We conclude the PCRA court properly dismissed Appellant’s July 24,
2016 petition. “When an appellant’s PCRA appeal is pending before a court,
a subsequent PCRA petition cannot be filed until the resolution of review of
the pending PCRA petition by the highest state court in which review is
sought, or upon the expiration of the time for seeking such review.”
Commonwealth v. Lark, 746 A.2d 585, 588 (Pa. 2000); see also
____________________________________________
1
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court subsequently denied Appellant’s petition
for allowance of appeal on September 28, 2016. Commonwealth v.
Frank, 158 A.3d 86, 346 MAL 2016 (Pa. 2016).
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J-S30011-17
Commonwealth v. Porter, 35 A.3d 4, 14 (Pa. 2012) (Lark precludes PCRA
court from entertaining a new PCRA petition when a prior petition remains
under review on appeal).
Order affirmed.
Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 7/18/2017
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