SUNBURY — A Montour County woman who was paroled from Northumberland County Prison in February following the beating death of her 4-year-old son, allegedly at the hands of her own mother, is fighting a court’s proposal to resentence her as a Megan’s Law offender.
Melba S. Proctor, 24, of Mahoning Township, pleaded no contest in Northumberland County Court to felony institional sexual assault for having sex with an 18-year-old inmate at Northwestern Academy in Coal Township, where she worked briefly in February and March 2008.
She began serving a 3- to 23-month county jail sentence Jan. 9 while her mother, Angela Barksdale, 45, of Bronx, N.Y., cared for her two children, Kevion Shand, 4, and Naimah Shand, 1 1/2.
A little more than a month later, on Feb. 21, Kevion was found beaten to death inside his grandmother’s apartment and Barksdale was charged with second-degree murder.
Proctor was paroled from jail on Feb. 25 so she could be with her family in the Bronx.
Then Northumberland County Probation officials contacted Judge William H. Wiest and informed him that the felony institutional sexual assault Proctor pleaded no contest to committing is a Megan’s Law offense requiring her to register for up to 10 years.
So, the judge issued an order to bring her back to court to be resentenced.
Objecting to the motion being filed four months after Proctor was sentenced, public defender Michael Romance argued that the court no longer has jurisdiction in the case.
“I’m not laying blame her, but this issue was missed,” he said, noting that the Megan’s Law condition did not exist at the time Proctor entered a plea, was sentenced and served the time. “It’s double jeopardy because it adds an additional penalty.”
Assistant District Attorney Michael Toomey argued the double jeopardy rule doesn’t apply.
Wiest gave both sides 20 days to file written briefs on the matter before making a ruling.
Proctor appeared in court with an unidentified male and declined comment.
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