Jeffrey J. Marsalis, who sexually assaulted three women in the region before traveling to Idaho and raping a lesbian in that state, recently asked state authorities for parole on his local crimes.
Last month, Marsalis filed a formal parole application with the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, according to board spokesperson Maria A. Finn.
“In May 2018, Jeffery Marsalis will be interviewed by a parole board member and a hearing examiner,” Finn said in an email. “Their decision will be circulated to other board members for a majority decision. That decision (board action) will be released within several weeks of the interview.”
Finn said the board has nine members, including an openly LGBT member, Leo L. Dunn. The board has a staff of about 97 workers and an annual budget of about $11.2 million.
According to court records, Marsalis sexually assaulted three Philadelphia-area women between 2003-05, before traveling to Idaho and raping a lesbian there.
In 2007, a Philadelphia jury found Marsalis guilty of two counts of sexual assault. He pleaded no contest to one count of unlawful restraint. Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer subsequently imposed a 10-1/2 to 21-year prison sentence.
Marsalis allegedly sedated his victims with a date-rape drug prior to sexually assaulting them. But he’s consistently denied the allegations, according to court papers.
In appellate papers, Marsalis claimed the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office should have been disqualified from the case because the agency wrongfully accused him of raping a local prosecutor.
Marsalis also contended that the trial judge, Steven R. Geroff, was prejudiced against him, thus preventing him from receiving a fair trial.
But in 2016, Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Marsalis’ request for a new trial. Marsalis, 44, remains incarcerated at a state prison in Marienville.
If Marsalis is paroled in Pennsylvania, he’s expected to serve a lengthy prison sentence in Idaho for raping a lesbian in that state, according to court records.
Amy Worden, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, said any recommendation made by the corrections department regarding Marsalis’ parole request won’t be publicly disclosed.