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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703 (2026)

 Assault by prisoner.

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§ 2703.  Assault by prisoner.

(a)  Offense defined.--

(1)  Except as provided under section 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner), a person who is confined in or committed to any local or county detention facility, jail or prison or any State penal or correctional institution or other State penal or correctional facility located in this Commonwealth is guilty of a felony of the second degree if he, while so confined or committed or while undergoing transportation to or from such an institution or facility in or to which he was confined or committed intentionally or knowingly, commits an assault upon any of the following:

(i)  Except as provided under subparagraph (ii), another with a deadly weapon or instrument, or by any means or force likely to produce serious bodily injury.

(ii)  A detention facility or correctional facility employee with a deadly weapon or instrument, or by any means or force likely to produce bodily injury.

(2)  A person is guilty of this offense if:

(i)  he intentionally or knowingly causes another to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling such fluid or material when, at the time of the offense, the person knew, had reason to know, should have known or believed such fluid or material to have been obtained from an individual, including the person charged under this section, infected by a communicable disease declared reportable by regulation authorized by the act of April 23, 1956 (1955 P.L.1510, No.500), known as the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955; and

(ii)  the communicable disease referenced in subparagraph (i) is communicable to another by the method used or attempted to be used to cause another to come into contact with the blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces.

(3)  Except as provided under section 2704, a person who is confined in or committed to any local or county detention facility, jail or prison or any State penal or correctional institution or other State penal or correctional facility located in this Commonwealth is guilty of a felony of the first degree if he, while so confined or committed or while undergoing transportation to or from an institution or facility in or to which he was confined or committed, intentionally or knowingly, commits an assault upon a detention facility or correctional facility employee with a deadly weapon or instrument, or by any means or force likely to produce serious bodily injury.

(b)  Consecutive sentences.--The court shall order that any sentence imposed for a violation of subsection (a), or any sentence imposed for a violation of section 2702(a) (relating to aggravated assault) where the victim is a detention facility or correctional facility employee, be served consecutively with the person's current sentence.

(Dec. 10, 1974, P.L.810, No.268; Feb. 18, 1998, P.L.102, No.19, eff. imd.; July 23, 2020, P.L.641, No.63, eff. 60 days; Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1634, No.99, eff. 60 days)

 

2022 Amendment.  Act 99 amended subsec. (a)(2).

2020 Amendment.  Act 63 amended subsec. (a)

Cross References.  Section 2703 is referred to in sections 2702.1, 6105 of this title; section 9802 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); section 7122 of Title 61 (Prisons and Parole).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1979–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Carpenter, 725 A.2d 154 (Pa. 1999).
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Commonwealth v. Carpenter, 725 A.2d 154 (Pa. 1999). · cites it 2× “[7] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703. [8] Appellant's claim that the admission of the statements constituted a separate Confrontation Clause violation is simply incorrect because Ms.”
Commonwealth v. Domek, 167 A.3d 761 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017). · cites it 3× “Appellant highlights that the jury acquitted him of both counts of assault by a prisoner under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703, including one count for injuries caused to CO Bonenberger, which required the jury to find that “it was the intended conscious goal or purpose to cause serious…”
Commonwealth v. Chew, 487 A.2d 1379 (Pa. 1985). · cites it 3× “2 The crime of assault by prisoner is defined at 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 as follows: A person who has been found guilty and is awaiting sentence to imprisonment, or a person who has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of years in any local or county detention facility, jail or…”
Commonwealth v. Karns, 50 A.3d 158 (Pa. 2012). “18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner).”
United States v. Shawn Quinnones, 16 F.4th 414 (3d Cir. 2021). · cites it 3× “In this case, we are required to determine whether assault by a prisoner under the portion of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703 that criminalizes “caus[ing] another to come into contact with [bodily] fluid” when the prisoner knew or should have known the fluid came from someone with a…”
Commonwealth v. Stotelmyer, D., 110 A.3d 146 (Pa. 2015). · cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Williams, 868 A.2d 529 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). “' 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Cordoba, 902 A.2d 1280 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2006). “But see 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (defining Assault by Prisoner to include conduct where an HIV positive prisoner causes another individual to come into contact with certain bodily fluids of that prisoner); 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Sarapa, 13 A.3d 961 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2011). “18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Kenney, 210 A.3d 1077 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). “18 Pa.C.S. § 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner).”
Commonwealth v. Noyer, 402 A.2d 679 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1979). · cites it 2× “[5] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703. [6] 18 Pa.C.S. § 3921.”
Counts v. Commonwealth, 487 A.2d 450 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1985). “18 Pa. C. S. §2703. Tlie pertinent part of 'the Board’s order of April 23, 1984 reads as follows: As recorded on 04-23-84 the Board of Probation and Parole rendered the following decision in your case: Rescind reparoling action of 9-9-83 in view of recent misconducts.”
Show all 36 citing cases →
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(A): 1 case
Commonwealth v. Rhodes, 14 Pa. D. & C.5th 179 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. 2010).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(a): 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Domek, 167 A.3d 761 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017). “Appellant highlights that the jury acquitted him of both counts of assault by a prisoner under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2703, including one count for injuries caused to CO Bonenberger, which required the jury to find that “it was the intended conscious goal or purpose to cause serious…”
Commonwealth v. Brandwein, 10 Pa. D. & C.5th 13 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. 2009).
Com. v. Cedeno, J., No. 1458 MDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. Apr. 21, 2016).
Com. v. Hudson, K., No. 526 WDA 2017 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 22, 2017).
Com. v. Bendik, E., No. 815 MDA 2018 (Pa. Super. Ct. Apr. 5, 2019).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(a)(1): 1 case
Com. v. Pullen, D., No. 2031 EDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 3, 2016).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(a)(1)(i): 1 case
Com. v. Harris, D., No. 30 WDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Ct. Dec. 8, 2023).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(a)(1)(ii): 1 case
Com. v. Hawkins, Q., No. 447 WDA 2020 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 11, 2021).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(a)(3): 3 cases
Henry v. Smith, No. 3:22-cv-00196 (W.D. Pa. Mar. 27, 2023).
Com. v. Dilberto, D., No. 1626 EDA 2024 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 6, 2025).
Commonwealth v. Stewart, 11 Pa. D. & C.5th 8 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. 2010).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(c): 1 case
Com. v. Ciccanti, C., No. 857 MDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. Dec. 14, 2015).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2703(c)(1): 1 case
Com. v. Ciccanti, C., No. 857 MDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. Dec. 14, 2015).
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