The Pennsylvania Superior Court has denied the appeal of convicted sexually violent predator Gage Ortiz-Rodriquez, saying the evidence presented in McKean County Court upheld that designation.
Ortiz-Rodriquez, 24, of Port Allegany, had pleaded guilty in 2020 to two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, four counts of sexual abuse of children, one count of indecent assault and one count of criminal solicitation to commit sexual assault.
He was ordered to undergo a sexually violent predator assessment, in which an investigator and a social worker for the Sexual Offender Assessment Board both concluded that he was a predator.
In February of 2021, he was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in state prison, followed by four years of probation.
Through his attorney, Phil Clabaugh, Ortiz-Rodriquez filed an appeal, challenging the predator designation. He asked the Superior Court to find that the McKean County judge erred or abused its discretion relating to the hearing and the court’s findings where the court found Ortiz-Rodriquez met the definition of sexually violent predator.
Specifically, he challenged the social worker’s findings, saying she did not “specify any facts or information that she considered in concluding” that he displayed characteristics of a predator.
The Superior Court, however, disagreed, quoting the social worker as saying he met the criteria for “unspecified paraphilic disorder,” such as “sadism or pedophilia,” read the court’s opinion.
District Attorney Stephanie L. Vettenburg-Shaffer said, “The designation as sexually violent predator (SVP) imposes additional requirements on those convicted of sex offenses and found to meet the definition of SVP, including lifetime registration as a sex offender under the law formerly known as Megan’s Law which is a law aimed at community protection.”
Shaffer continued, “The opinion of the Superior Court affirms the trial court’s opinion finding that the District Attorney’s office presented clear and convincing evidence to support the trial court’s opinion.”
She said Ortiz-Rodriquez remains incarcerated in state prison as a result of his sentence and will be required to register as a Sexually Violent Predator for his lifetime.
According to the criminal complaints filed at the time of his arrest, between 2015 and 2019, in Port Allegany Borough and Annin Township, Ortiz-Rodriquez had sexual contact with juvenile males and directed the juveniles to take off their clothes and engage in sexual activity while he took photographs. The complaints indicated there were at least two victims.
