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Commonwealth v. Hoffman

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�1 Appellant, Richard Lee Hoffman, asks us to determine whether the trial court erred when it dismissed as untimely his petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA). *fn1 Specifically, Appellant asks us to decide whether his continuing mental illness constitutes an exception to the PCRA time requirements. We hold under the facts of this case that Appellant’s mental illness does not fit within the statutory exceptions to the PCRA time bar. Accordingly, we affirm the PCRA court’s order denying Appellant relief.

�2 The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. Appellant was arrested on June 22, 1994, based on allegations of sexual molestation of his eight-year-old stepdaughter. In particular, Appellant was charged with multiple acts from March 1993 to May 1994. On September 15, 1994, a jury in the Mifflin County Court of Common Pleas convicted Appellant of one count rape, *fn2 one count statutory rape, *fn3 one count aggravated indecent assault, *fn4 one count involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, *fn5 three counts indecent assault, *fn6 and three counts corruption of a minor. *fn7 The court sentenced Appellant on November 7, 1994 to sixteen (16) to forty (40) years’ incarceration. Appellant appealed his conviction and this Court affirmed his judgment of sentence on August 10, 1995. The judgment of sentence became final on or about September 9, 1995, as Appellant pursued no further appeals to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Appellant filed his first PCRA petition on April 9, 1999. Appellant’s PCRA petition was denied on April 26, 1999 without proper notice under Pa.R.Crim.P. 1507. Appellant filed a motion to reconsider, which was later granted. Appellant filed a brief on the timeliness of the PCRA petition, and the Commonwealth subsequently filed a reply brief. Appellant’s PCRA petition was dismissed as untimely on November 19, 1999. Appellant filed a timely, counseled appeal to this Court.

�3 Appellant presents the following issue for our review:

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