Former Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh will proceed with his court-mandated resentencing for a 2002 sexual assault, and could potentially face time in state prison for the crime.
McIntosh and his lawyer, Joel Trigiani, announced the decision Friday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. McIntosh's other option was to try to withdraw his original no-contest plea and go to trial.
Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe set sentencing for Dec. 21.
Assistant district attorney Richard DeSipio said after the hearing that prosecutors would ask for a sentence within the maximum-penalty range of five to 10 years in prison.
By proceeding with sentencing, McIntosh avoids a public trial that could lead to a conviction on rape charges and a potentially longer prison term.
Trigiani said he plans to present 50 witnesses to testify on McIntosh's behalf at sentencing in an effort to avoid the maximum penalty. He added after the hearing that McIntosh is "completely remorseful" for his actions.
Prosecutors said they plan to present only two witnesses at the hearing.
Dembe's sentence will likely bring closure to a case that has been prolonged several times since McIntosh, 54, pleaded no contest in Dec. 2004 to charges of sexually assaulting his college roommate's 23-year-old niece.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office appealed Court of Common Pleas Judge Rayford Means' initial sentence of 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest, arguing that Means had considered McIntosh to be above the law due to his status as a preeminent brain researcher.
The state Superior Court agreed and overturned the sentence last November, also saying Means had been too lenient.
At a Sept. 14 hearing, Trigiani asked Dembe to reinstate the original sentence, arguing that it was the result of a backroom deal made by prosecutors, McIntosh's former defense lawyers and Means.
Dembe refused to reinstate the sentence, and denied Trigiani's motion for a hearing in which he planned call Means and former McIntosh lawyers Thomas Bergstrom and Arthur Donato as witnesses to testify about the purported plea deal, which allegedly stated that McIntosh would not receive prison time in exchange for the plea.
Bergstrom and Donato have filed a sworn affidavit saying the deal existed, though the District Attorney's office has consistently stated that there was no such agreement.
In court Friday, Dembe assured McIntosh that "there have been no off-the-record discussions, promises or understandings between myself and counsel," and McIntosh confirmed that no one had promised him otherwise.
Dembe briefly questioned McIntosh to make sure he understood his decision to proceed with sentencing and its implications. He responded with mostly one-word answerers, but elaborated to say that medication he was taking to treat depression did not affect his ability to make decisions.
Means' original sentence also deviated from Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines, which call for three-to-six years in prison for a sexual assault. Judges' sentences, however, can vary from the guidelines based on factors such as the defendant's prior record and displays of remorse.
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