The sentencing of a former Lancaster County policeman, convicted of molesting or propositioning teenage girls, has been postponed after his lawyer complained about his client's sexual predator assessment becoming public.

Robert Pavlovich, who was once a Manheim Township policeman, was convicted last October of having contact with more than a dozen girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 19 while working as a policeman in Marysville, Perry County. The offenses happened between 2000 and 2007.

He was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a child, bribery and 10 counts of corruption of minors.

After his conviction, Judge Kathy Morrow ordered that Pavlovich undergo assessment by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board to determine if he is a sexual predator before she imposed sentence.

Last month, according to a report in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, it was made public that the assessment board did find Pavlovich met the "criteria for a mental abnormality that makes him likely to re-offend and the criteria for predatory behavior as described in the Megan's Law statute."

Defense attorney P. Richard Wagner argues the results should not have been made public and is now asking the judge for a hearing on the matter. That hearing is now scheduled for May 26.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Jonelle Eshbach explained that someone designated by a judge as a sexually violent predator is subject to Megan's Law statutes, including lifetime address reporting to the state police.

State police and the Attorney General's Office took over the case after the victims said their complaints about the policeman's behavior were ignored.

Pavlovich, 40, who now lives in Cumberland County, remains free on $250,000 bail. No new sentencing date for the crimes has been set.

In 1995, Pavlovich was employed as a Manheim Township policeman and was accused of touching a teenage girl inappropriately. He went to trial and was acquitted but was discharged from the department.


Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.