Sex Offender Accountability in Allegheny County

Sex Offender Accountability in Allegheny County

Allegheny County has the first Sex Offender Court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 2011. Sex Offender Court (SOC) is a collaborative, containment model approach to managing and processing criminal cases involving Megan’s Law offenses. The goals in adopting this approach are to increase offender accountability, enhance community safety, and reduce recidivism.

The impetus for this court sprung from the work of Allegheny County Sex Offender Management and Containment Task Force (SOMAC), convened by Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and the courts. SOMAC is a county-wide multidisciplinary task force comprised of agencies who through a victim-centered approach, strives to lower the recidivism of sex offenders in our community to prevent future victims of sexual violence.