State v. Luzar

Summary

The Eleventh District Court of Appeals affirmed Robert A. Luzar, Jr.'s life sentence following his guilty pleas to two counts of rape involving victims under ten and under thirteen years of age. The court held that the applicable statutes mandated a life sentence, either with or without the possibility of parole, and that the sentence was not contrary to law.

Holdings

1. The sentence was not contrary to law because R.C. 2971.03(B)(1)(b) mandated a minimum term of fifteen years and a maximum term of life imprisonment for a defendant convicted of or pleading guilty to rape under R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b) when the victim was less than ten years old.
2. An appellate court may increase, reduce, modify, vacate, or remand a felony sentence when it clearly and convincingly finds that the record does not support the required consecutive-sentence findings or that the sentence is contrary to law; the court found no such basis here.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court's sentence of fifteen years to life for rape involving a victim under ten years of age was contrary to law or unsupported by the sentencing record.

Disposition

affirmed