State v. Sharp, Unpublished Decision (5-16-2002)
State v. Sharp, Unpublished Decision (5-16-2002)
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The defendant/appellant, Don K. Sharp, appeals from a judgment of the Allen County Court of Common Pleas, sentencing him to serve two consecutive five-year prison terms after the appellant pled guilty to two count's of gross sexual imposition. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.The defendant was arrested after his stepdaughter revealed that he molested her over a period of approximately three years, while she was between the ages of six and ten. On November 7, 2001, the appellant appeared in court on a bill of information which charged him with two counts of gross sexual imposition, a third degree felony in violation of R.C.
The appellant asserts that the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentences without making the required statutory findings nor stating the factual basis for its decision.
R.C.
R.C.
"(4) If multiple prison terms are imposed on an offender for convictions of multiple offenses, the court may require the offender to serve the prison terms consecutively if the court finds that the consecutive service is necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish the offender and that consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the offender's conduct and to the danger the offender poses to the public, and if the court also finds any of the following:
"(a) The offender committed the multiple offenses while the offender was * * * under post-release control for a prior offense.
"(b) The harm caused by the multiple offenses was so great or unusual that no single prison term for any of the offenses committed as part of a single course of conduct adequately reflects the seriousness of the offender's conduct.
"(c) The offender's history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by the offender."
In addition to making the requisite findings under R.C.
"(2) The court shall impose a sentence and shall make a finding that gives its reasons for selecting the sentence imposed in any of the following circumstances:
"* * *
"(a) If it imposes consecutive sentences under section
As we explained in State v. Schmidt,1 when a statute further requires the court to provide its reasons for imposing a sentence, as in the case of consecutive sentences, the court must make the applicable findings and then provide a factual explanation setting forth the basis for those findings.2 Failure to sufficiently state these reasons on the record constitutes reversible error and requires a remand of matter for sentencing.3
A review of the sentencing transcript reveals that the trial court found that the imposition of consecutive sentences was "necessary to protect the public and punish the defendant." The court went on to state:
"Further the consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the conduct since the defendant poses the greatest danger and the harm committed by the defendant was so great or unusual that a single term, and I stress that in this case, a single term does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's conduct.
"The court further finds that the shortest term would demean the seriousness of the defendant's conduct and would not adequately protect the public from future crimes by the defendant or others."
These findings, made on the record, are sufficient to establish compliance with R.C.
We find that the court also fulfilled the statutory requirements of R.C.
Just prior to imposing sentence, the court made the following statements on the record:
"We have a child that was molested sexually by her stepfather over a period of three (3) years at least ten (10) times.
"We have partial penetration. We had instances of masturbation by the victim on the defendant. We have insertion of his penis in her vagina, in her anus.
"He used his position of stepfather. And then in the report some way or another attempts to place the victim at fault for trying to control him, saying that she was in love with him."
Thus, a review of the transcript reveals that the trial court set forth multiple factual justifications for the imposition of consecutive sentences in this case.
The appellant complains that the trial court erroneously stated during the sentencing hearing: "But first of all consecutive terms are mandated and specified by law. They're separate offenses." The appellant correctly points out that, while R.C.
Accordingly, the appellant's sole assignment of error is not well taken and is hereby denied.
Having found no error prejudicial to the appellant herein, in the particulars assigned and argued, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Judgment affirmed.
BRYANT and WALTERS, J.J., concur.
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