Inmate may get new sentence in attempted rape

Bishop convicted of attack on prison counselor

A state prison inmate sentenced last year by a Huntingdon County judge to a term of 17.5 to 35 years for the attempted sexual assault of a female corrections counselor has lost his bid for a new trial, but he could end up with a reduced sentence, according to a recent ruling by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Howard Bishop, 36, on Nov. 10, 2020, was serving time for third-degree murder at the State Correctional Institution at Smithfield, Huntingdon County, when a corrections counselor contacted him and told him his mother was concerned and worried because she hadn't heard from him for a long time.

The counselor asked him to call his mother and went into her office to retrieve the mother's telephone number.

According to the Superior Court summary of the incident, Bishop followed the counselor into her office and shut the door. She handed him the number and several times asked him to leave the office.

He refused to leave and as she pressed a duress alarm, he grabbed her from behind and attempted to assault her.

The victim, according to the description of what occurred, "screamed, yelled for help, and tried to fight (Bishop) off."

As she yelled for help, he covered her mouth with his hand.

She was forced to the office floor but continued to struggle, according to the account of what occurred.

The counselor testified during Bishop's trial that "she was terrified and in fear of suffering injury while (he) was attacking her," the Superior Court reported.

The assault ended when three corrections officers, responding to the duress alarm, were able to enter the office and handcuff Bishop.

He was convicted by a jury of attempted rape, aggravated assault by putting the counselor in fear of imminent serious bodily injury, unlawful restraint, indecent assault, false imprisonment and simple assault.

Trial Judge George N. Zanic imposed consecutive prison sentences of 10 to 20 years for the attempted rape, five to 10 years on the aggravated assault charge and 2.5 to five years for unlawful restraint.

Bishop, through attorney Wayne E. Bradburn Jr. of State College, appealed his convictions and overall prison sentence of 17.5 to 35 years to the Superior Court, arguing the verdicts were against the weight and sufficiency of the evidence.

On appeal, a Superior Court panel that included Judges Mary P. Murray, Megan King and James G. Colins upheld Bishop's convictions on the attempted rape and aggravated assault charges but vacated his conviction on the charge of unlawful restraint.

The appeals court then ordered the case returned to Huntingdon for resentencing.

The panel found the evidence clearly indicated that Bishop had attacked the counselor and that he had put her "in fear of serious bodily injury," thus upholding the convictions of attempted rape and aggravated assault of a corrections employee.

He overpowered her, covered her mouth with his hand and told her not to call for help, according to the Superior Court opinion.

"Such an attack is menacing and frightening conduct that would reasonably cause a person to fear for her life, particularly when the attacker is a convicted criminal in a prison setting," the court concluded.

But when addressing the unlawful restraint charge, the appeals court concluded it could not stand because there was no evidence that the victim was in "danger" of serious bodily injury -- a requirement necessary for conviction.

While the evidence showed the victim had a reasonable fear of bodily injury, there was no evidence that Bishop had "hit her, tried to choke her or impeded her ability to breathe, threw her against any object or put her in a dangerous location."

In reviewing unlawful restraint cases, the appeals panel related a case where a woman was handcuffed and put in the trunk of a car, or that an attacker threatened to kill his victim, or yet another situation where the attacker grabbed the female victim by the throat.

In the Bishop case, the appeals court concluded, the victim was frightened, but the testimony did not show any actual risk of bodily injury.

Vacating the unlawful restraint conviction "disturbs" the trial court's sentencing scheme (the 2.5 to five years on the unlawful restraint charge was consecutive to the sentence of the other charges) and therefore Bishop must be resentenced, according to the Superior Court panel ruled.

Bishop is no longer an inmate of SCI Smithfield. He is presently serving his time at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County.