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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5509 (2026)

  Desecration, theft or sale of venerated objects.

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 5509.  Desecration, theft or sale of venerated objects.

(a)  Offense defined.--A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he:

(1)  intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, or place of worship or burial;

(2)  intentionally desecrates any other object of veneration by the public or a substantial segment thereof in any public place;

(3)  sells, attempts to sell or removes with intent to sell a veteran's marker as described in section 1913 of the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code. This paragraph shall not apply to the sale of veterans' markers authorized by statute; or

(4)  intentionally receives, retains or disposes of a veteran's marker or item decorating a veteran's grave knowing that the item has been stolen, or believing that it has probably been stolen, unless it has been received, retained or disposed of with the intent to return it to the owner.

(a.1)  Historic burial lots and burial places.--A person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if the person intentionally desecrates a historic burial lot or historic burial place.

(b)  Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:

"Desecrate."  Defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the actor knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the action.

"Historic burial lot."  An individual burial site within a historic burial place.

"Historic burial place."  A tract of land which has been:

(1)  in existence as a burial ground for more than 100 years; or

(2)  listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as determined by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

(May 4, 2001, P.L.3, No.3, eff. 60 days; Dec. 16, 2003, P.L.233, No.41, eff. 60 days; Oct. 9, 2008, P.L.1419, No.116, 60 days)

 

2008 Amendment.  Section 2 of Act 116 provided that the amendment of section 5509 shall apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of section 2.

2003 Amendment.  Section 2 of Act 41 provided that the amendment of section 5509 shall apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of Act 41.

References in Text.  The act of August 9, 1955, P.L.323, No.130, known as The County Code, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), was repealed by the act of May 8, 2024, P.L.50, No.14. The subject matter is now contained in Title 16 (Counties).

Cross References.  Section 5509 is referred to in section 3307 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1989–2024 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Perdue, 564 A.2d 489 (Pa. 1989).
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Commonwealth v. Perdue, 564 A.2d 489 (Pa. 1989). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 5509(b) (“[T]he word 'desecrate’ means defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the actor knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the action.”
Com. v. Baboolal, M. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024). “Here, the evidence would be sufficient for institutional vandalism if it showed that Appellant knowingly damaged state or local government vehicles; the applicable statute would not require that he desecrate any vehicles as that term is defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5509. Section 302…”
Com. v. Ritchey, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024). “§ 3921), and intentionally receiving, retaining or disposing of a grave marker (18 Pa.C.S. § 5509). On June 23, 2023, the trial court sentenced Appellant to an aggregate 9 to 24 months less 1 day, but granted Appellant parole on July 17, 2023.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5509(b) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Perdue, 564 A.2d 489 (Pa. 1989). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 5509(b) (“[T]he word 'desecrate’ means defacing, damaging, polluting or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the actor knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the action.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.