State v. Jordan, Unpublished Decision (5-28-2004)

2004 Ohio 2775
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 28, 2004
DocketCourt of Appeals No. OT-03-009, Trial Court No. 02-CR-101.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2004 Ohio 2775 (State v. Jordan, Unpublished Decision (5-28-2004)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jordan, Unpublished Decision (5-28-2004), 2004 Ohio 2775 (Ohio Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
{¶ 1} Terry Lee Jordan appeals his sentence and sexual predator classification from the Ottawa County Court of Common Pleas. Because the trial court made findings which support the sentence imposed and the sexual predator determination, we affirm.

{¶ 2} On August 29, 2002, the Ottawa County grand jury returned a 36-count indictment against Jordan concerning his conduct involving his step-granddaughter who was seven years old when the offenses began. Counts 1 through 17 charged Jordan with rape, a violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), felonies of the first degree; Counts 18 through 28 alleged gross sexual imposition, a violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), felonies of the third degree; Counts 29 and 30 charged Importuning, a violation of R.C.2907.07(A), felonies of the fourth degree; and Counts 31 through 36 alleged disseminating material harmful to juvenile, a violation of R.C. 2907.31(A)(1), felonies of the fifth degree. On December 2, 2002, Jordan pled guilty to three counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court first conducted a hearing on Jordan's sexual classification status and took the matter under advisement. The trial court then sentenced Jordan to nine years for each rape count and five years on the gross sexual imposition and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively. In its decision and judgment entry filed February 25, 2003, the trial court found that Jordan was a sexual predator.

{¶ 3} Jordan raises the following two assignments of error:

{¶ 4} "1. The trial court erred when it sentenced appellant to nine years on counts one, two and three and to five years on count eighteen, all to run consecutively.

{¶ 5} "2. The trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law when it found appellant to be a sexual predator."

Sentencing Issues
{¶ 6} In the first assignment of error, Jordan appeals his sentence under R.C. 2953.08(A)(1)(b), (A)(4), and (G). He contends that (1) the sentence that was imposed for two or more offenses arose out of a single incident, and the court imposed the maximum prison term for the offense of the highest degree; (2) the sentence is contrary to law; and (3) the sentencing court failed to state the required findings on the record to impose consecutive sentences.

{¶ 7} An appellate court may not disturb an imposed sentence unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the sentence is not supported by the record or is contrary to law. R.C. 2953.08(G)(2). Clear and convincing evidence is that evidence "which will produce in the mind of the trier of facts a firm belief or conviction as to the facts sought to be established." Cross v. Ledford (1954), 161 Ohio St. 469, paragraph three of the syllabus.

{¶ 8} When sentencing a defendant, R.C. 2929.11(A) requires that the trial court be guided by "the overriding purposes of felony sentencing," which are to protect the public from future crime and to punish the offender. Pursuant to R.C. 2929.11(B), the trial court must impose a sentence "commensurate with and not demeaning to the seriousness of the offender's conduct and its impact upon the victim, and consistent with sentences imposed for similar offenses by similar offenders." Unless a mandatory prison term is required, the trial court has discretion to determine the most effective way of achieving those purposes and principles, but the court must consider factors set forth in subdivisions (B), (C), (D) and (E) of R.C. 2929.12. These factors relate to the seriousness of the offense and the likelihood that the offender will commit future crimes. The sentencing court also may consider additional factors that it finds relevant to achieving the R.C. 2929.11 purposes and principles of sentencing. R.C.2929.12(A).

{¶ 9} Jordan was convicted of three counts of rape, a felony of the first degree. Pursuant to R.C. 2929.14(A)(1), the prison term range for a first-degree felony is three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten years. Under R.C. 2929.13(F)(2), rape carries a mandatory prison term.

{¶ 10} Jordan was also convicted of one count of gross sexual imposition, a felony of the third degree. Pursuant to R.C.2929.14(A)(3), the prison term range for a third-degree felony is one, two, three, four, or five years. The sentencing guidelines in R.C. 2929.13(C), however, do not provide a presumption in favor of a prison sentence or guidance for a community control sentence for third-degree felonies.

{¶ 11} Initially, we note that there are two areas where Jordan misstates the record.1 First, Jordan incorrectly argues in his brief that he was sentenced to the maximum term on each count. The maximum sentence for a felony of the first degree is ten years. R.C. 2929.14(A)(1). Jordan was sentenced to nine years for each rape count. The trial court itself stated at the sentencing hearing that it could not impose the maximum term for the rape offenses because it could not find that Jordan had committed the worst form of rape. We will consider Jordan's argument regarding maximum sentence as it relates to the gross sexual imposition charge only.

{¶ 12} Secondly, Jordan states that his offenses arose from a single incident and that the gross sexual imposition charge is arguably an allied offense of rape. The record does contain some discrepancy concerning the period of time Jordan abused his stepgranddaughter. However, according to the Ottawa County Department of Job Family Services Investigation Report attached to the presentence investigation report, Jordan admitted that there were 10 to 12 incidents over a 12 to 18 month period. The record sufficiently demonstrates that there were separate incidents to support each count to which Jordan pled.

{¶ 13} Essentially, the sentencing issues are whether the trial court erred by (1) sentencing Jordan to more than the minimum because he had not previously served a prison term; (2) sentencing him to the maximum sentence on the gross sexual imposition count; (3) imposing consecutive sentences; and (4) failing to make a sexual offender classification before sentencing him.

More than the Minimum Sentence — Rape Convictions
{¶ 14} R.C. 2929.14(B) states that if an offender has not served a previous prison term, the trial court shall impose the minimum prison term unless it finds on the record that the minimum would "demean the seriousness of the offender's conduct" or "not adequately protect the public from future crime by the offender or others." Jordan has never served a prison term. Therefore, we must determine whether the trial court made the appropriate findings to impose a prison sentence that exceeds the minimum of three years for the rape convictions.

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Bluebook (online)
2004 Ohio 2775, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jordan-unpublished-decision-5-28-2004-ohioctapp-2004.