### Philly Rapist Reaffirmed as Sexually Violent Predator
Pennsylvania’s Superior Court upheld Jeffrey Best’s designation as a sexually violent predator (SVP) in a chilling 2013 case, affirming a trial court’s ruling based on brutal evidence from a new hearing. Best, convicted of rape and related charges, lost his appeal challenging the label, which stems from Pennsylvania’s SORNA law requiring lifelong registration for high-risk offenders. The decision ensures Best faces strict monitoring after his 10-to-20-year prison term.
The nightmare unfolded on June 2, 2013, near a Philadelphia intersection, when Best approached a prostitute—a stranger battling addiction—offering $20 for sex. What seemed transactional turned horrific: Best jammed a hard object, likely a gun, into her back, threatening to “blow her brains out” if she resisted. He stripped her, dragged her behind an abandoned house, and subjected her to hours of forced oral, vaginal, and anal rape, leaving permanent knee scars from the gravel. She fled 20 blocks to an ambulance, where a rape kit captured DNA that idled unsolved until 2018, when a national database matched Best’s sample—collected voluntarily—as the “major component” on her body.
Best’s 2021 bench trial ended in convictions for rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, sexual assault, terroristic threats, and possessing an instrument of crime. Sentenced in 2022 with an initial SVP tag, the Superior Court vacated it in 2023 for a procedural flub: prosecutors failed to properly introduce the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board (SOAB) report. On remand, a fresh August 2024 hearing fixed that. The key question? Did clear and convincing evidence show Best had a “mental abnormality or personality disorder” making him likely to prey on strangers sexually, per 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.12?
SOAB psychologist Steven Pflugfelder testified under oath, his report admitted as evidence. He dissected statutory factors: Best’s predatory stranger attack exceeded minimal force—he isolated her, wielded a gun with “unusual cruelty,” and ravaged her relentlessly. No prior convictions, but unproven rape allegations hinted at a pattern. Crucially, Pflugfelder diagnosed paraphilic arousal to non-consensual acts, deeming Best likely to reoffend “to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.” Best claimed his cerebral palsy made the assault impossible; the court dismissed it.
Viewing evidence favorably to the prosecution—as appeals demand—the Superior Court found no error. The trial judge weighed the brutality, stranger dynamic (or manipulative “relationship” via the proposition), and expert opinion, concluding Best fit the SVP mold: a mentally aberrant predator primed for repeat violence. The ruling sticks, locking in lifelong scrutiny under Pennsylvania law.