A Wilkes-Barre man was not entitled to a “volume discount” when he was sentenced to decades in state prison after being convicted by a Luzerne County jury of sexually assaulting three girls, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled Friday.
Marshall Avery Burney, 39, appealed his sentence of 23 to 46 years in prison imposed by Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr. in August 2022.
A jury convicted Burney on 13 total felony and misdemeanor offenses, including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and terroristic threats, following a three day trial in June 2021.
Sklarosky’s sentence on each of the 13 counts were iimposed consecutively, which Burney challenged in his appeal to the Superior Court.
Burney argued some of the convicted offenses should had been merged or imposed to run concurrently, which would lessen his overall sentence.
Wilkes-Barre police arrested Burney in July 2018 after the three girls were questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children’s Advocacy Center.
Court records say Burney sexually assaulted two girls for years, and forced the third girl to watch videos of himself and a family member engaged in sex acts.
A three member panel of the Superior Court upheld Burney’s sentence in a nine page ruling.
The appellate court ruled Sklarosky, like all judges, have sound discretion when imposing consecutive or concurrent sentences.
The Superior Court used Sklarosky’s opinion to uphold Burney’s sentence stating, “(Burney) was convicted of a number of very serious crimes, engaging in the sexual abuse….over a period of years….given the nature of the serious criminal conduct involved, the facts here do not present a plausible argument that the sentence is excessive. A sentence of 23 to 46 years’ imprisonment is not so manifestly excessive or unduly harsh as to raise a substantial question in this case.”
Burney was deemed a violent sexual predator subject to lifetime registration of his address, employment and vehicle ownership under the state’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act.