Case 1:22-cr-00129-SHR Document 25 Filed 02/24/23 Page 1 of 9

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : DOCKET NO. 1:22-CR-00129

Plaintiff :
v. :
:
SHELLEY NOREIKA : (ELECTRONICALLY FILED)
Defendant :

DEFENDANT’S
PRE-SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

AND NOW, comes the Defendant, Shelley Noreika, by and through her

counsel, Jonathan R. White, Esquire, and submits the following Pre-Sentencing

Memorandum, respectfully requesting the Honorable Court consider the information

submitted herein.

I. Procedural History

On June 8, 2023, Ms. Noreika submitted a Waiver of Indictment and entered a

Guilty Plea to Count 1 of the Information. Ms. Noreika is currently scheduled to

appear before Your Honor on March 1, 2023, for sentencing.

II. Section 3553(a) Factors

In accordance with Booker, this Honorable Court is directed to undertake a

three (3) step process to impose a sentence: “(1) calculate the applicable Guidelines

range, (2) formally rule on any departure motions, and (3) exercise its discretion in

applying the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. §3553(a).” United States v. Grier, 585 F.3d

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138 (3d Cir. 2009). The ultimate goal in sentencing is for the Court to impose a

sentence that is “sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the

purposes” of sentencing set forth in 18 U.S.C. §3553(a)(2).

As a child, your family is supposed to be your rock and your support system.

They are there to have your back and help mold your development, character, and

sense of self-worth. Sadly, for Ms. Noreika, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Ms. Noreika suffered physical and mental abuse from both of her parents. Tragically,

her father took things further and sexually abused her starting around age 12. Ms.

Noreika looks at her childhood as a very dark time.

Ms. Noreika’s mother was very critical of her, even into adulthood. As a child,

she recalls a time when she had friends over to play. Ms. Noreika remembered having

issues with her shirt and asking her mother to help. Because she interrupted her

mother, Ms. Noreika was slapped violently in front her friend by her mother. When

Ms. Noreika was older she was helping her sister plan a 25th anniversary party for her

parents. Ms. Noreika had spent the day with her sister, who eventually dropped her

off at home with their mother. Since Ms. Noreika was late getting home, her mother

kicked her out of the house. She was about 16 years old at the time. For the next few

months, Ms. Noreika lived with her sister.

When Ms. Noreika had her daughter, Katie, things got better. It seemed as

though Ms. Noreika was looked at as the favorite child, but behind closed doors,

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things were still the same. On the outside, her mother began to put Ms. Noreika on a

pedestal and even bragged about Ms. Noreika to other siblings. However, when not

around others, her mother caused high anxiety and stress as she critiqued every aspect

of Ms. Noreika’s life and choices.

Ms. Noreika’s father was abusive on all fronts. She obviously does not look

back at her relationship with him as a good and positive one. Near the end of his life,

she became torn. While she was happy he was gone due to the torment and pain he

inflicted on her, she was also sympathetic to his illnesses as she was tasked, along with

her sisters, to help him.

It’s significant that her mother fostered children. Ms. Noreika’s sister, Wendy,

was fostered and later adopted. The actions by her mother, as a foster parent, and the

abuse Ms. Noreika suffered and observed, is prevalent within Ms. Noreika’s pending

charges.

Ms. Noreika also has four siblings. She has no contact with Wendy and Steven.

After the within charges were filed, Ms. Noreika reached out Wendy to explain the

situation and made an attempt to speak with her. The response was immediate and

stated that Wendy did not want to talk to her and that Wendy has no sister. Her

sisters Cathy and Jeannette are still involved in her life and show their support. Her

sister Jeannette is about 17 years older than her. Ms. Noreika looked up to her like a

mother. Although they weren’t very close, they talk often as adults. Jeannette relays

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that she believes Ms. Noreika is a caring person, even regarding the care of her

children. Ms. Noreika looks to Jeannette as a pillar of support. She recently learned

that Jeannette is moving to Oklahoma, which makes her upset. Ms. Noreika has a very

different relationship with her other sister, Cathy. According to Ms. Noreika,

everything is a competition to Cathy. Cathy recently moved local to the family and

always believes that things have to be Cathy’s way or no way. Despite this competitive

nature, Ms. Noreika looks at Cathy as another pillar of support and believes their

current relationship to be strong.

Ms. Noreika has a daughter, Katie, through her previous marriage to Todd

Day. Her daughter Katie has two (2) grandchildren. However, she has not had any

contact with her children, foster children, or grandchildren since the underlying

federal and state charges. Ms. Noreika is very depressed with not getting to see or stay

in touch with her family. Mr. Day was also very abusive of Ms. Noreika, mentally and

sexually. The sexual abuse extended to her children and as a result, Mr. Day was

charged, convicted, and now a registered sex offender.

Ms. Noreika is now married to David. They have a good, supportive

relationship. Although they have been married for 24 years, David was unaware of the

sexual abuse his wife suffered from her father and ex-husband. Most of the childhood

and family history was discovered by David during his review of the PSR. His review

of the information clearly made him upset. However, he did state that it explained a

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lot about the relationship between him and his wife, as well as giving a much better

understanding of his wife.

Ms. Noreika enjoyed school growing up. While she was not a star pupil, it was

her time away from her family. She had the opportunity to get away from the chaos

and abuse. Upon graduation, she attended HACC and received her medical assistant

diploma through Kaplan. She considered getting her nursing degree in 2010 but

decided against it due to financial constraints.

Ms. Noreika’s medical issues are long, persistent, and growing. She has multiple

medical providers to treat her long list of ailments, which include various cancer

diagnosis, heart issues, and vision problems. See medical records attached hereto

as “Exhibit A”. The attached medical records are a sampling of her visits and

diagnoses that outline some of her more recent medical visits as well as incorporating

lists of her past and current medical diagnoses and long lists of medications. She has a

primary care physician (Dr. Michael Vangrow), Neurologist (Dr. Ellen M. Depoy),

hematologist and oncologist (Dr. Yang Liu), Endocrinologist (Dr. Dawn Smith), and

a cardiologist (through Penn State – Hershey). Her appointments and treatment needs

for her neurologist and oncologist are very important due to her multiple cancer

diagnosis and her vision. She has already lost most of her vision and if she goes

without care, the consequences could be dire. Her medications are extensive and

constantly changing.

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Recently, since her change of plea hearing on June 8, 2022, Ms. Noreika was

hospitalized with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. She remained hospitalized for

20 days. She had a lumbar puncture on February 20, 2023, and currently has a heart

loop recorder in her chest that will eventually need to be removed for further testing.

She has poor balance and difficulty walking. Due to this, she uses a walker at home

and an arm crutch to get around.

The effect of these circumstances underlying the indictment has not been lost

on Ms. Noreika and has had rippling effects. By no means does she ignore the effects

it had on her daughter, Ashleigh. When thinking about and discussing the effects of

her actions on Ashleigh, she is immediately apologetic and emotional, “I just want to

apologize to her. I never meant to hurt her or put her through anything.” Despite the

actions that were taken, she has extensive family and community report. See letters

of support attached hereto as “Exhibit B”. These letters are from friends, family,

and community members describing Ms. Noreika as a kind, loving, and caring person

that they all trust and can rely on. While the actions are tragic, they do not define who

Ms. Noreika is and has spent a lifetime defining as a caring thoughtful person. These

charges have changed Ms. Noreika in a lot of ways. She no longer likes to go outside

and be among people. She feels embarrassed and has fear that someone in the

community will see and shun her in public. Her husband has had opportunities to

transfer locations through YRC Freight but he has not taken that opportunity due to

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the pending charges. Additionally, these underlying issues have simultaneously put a

hard strain on her marriage, but ironically, they have opened up a lot of deep rooted

issues that explain a lot of who she is and where she came from. While understanding

of the backlash from these charges, Ms. Noreika is clear that “I am not a monster, but

I do know I need help.”

Her goals for the future are clear: family. She wants to relocate out of her

community and build a strong marriage with her husband. She wants to establish a

strong bond and relationship with her children and, hopefully, her grandchildren. She

has many hobbies that include: sewing, cooking and canning, baking, reading, and

gardening. Sadly, due to her many medical issues, including her eyesight and ability to

stand, many of those are difficult to withstand.

Ms. Noreika has complicated mental health issues. During the course of the

pre-indictment negotiations, an evaluation was done by Dr. Steven Erickson. See

report of Dr. Erickson, attached hereto as “Exhibit C.” Dr. Erickson diagnosed

Ms. Noreika with Factious Disorder Imposed on Another (formally known as

Munchausen by Proxy). He explains in his report that this disorder had a direct effect

on the actions of Ms. Noreika. Importantly, his findings conclude with stating that in

his professional opinion, “Ms. Noreika presents a minimal danger to public safety and

can be managed in the community.” This diagnosis and findings are a culmination of

a lifelong battle of physical, mental, and sexual abuse that went unreported.

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IV. Conclusion

WHEREFORE, for the reasons set forth above, Shelley Noreika, respectfully

requests This Honorable Court consider the forgoing information when deciding upon

an appropriate sentence.

Respectfully submitted,
Dethlefs-Pykosh, LLC

Date: February 23, 2023 /s/Jonathan R. White, Esquire

Jonathan R. White, Esquire
2132 Market Street
Camp Hill, PA 17011
(717) 975-9446
Attorney I.D. # 313808
Attorney for Defendant

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, Jonathan R. White, Esquire, hereby certify that on this 23rd day of February

2023 a true and correct copy of the foregoing Pre-Sentencing Memorandum was

served upon the party named below via electronic filing (ECF) addressed as follows:

Samuel.S.Dalke@usdoj.gov

/s/Jonathan R. White_ __
Jonathan R. White, Esquire