APPEAL
FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF
SUMMIT, OHIO CASE No. CR 2015 04 1302.
MARIA
V. COPETAS, Attorney at Law, for Appellant.
SHERRI
BEVAN WALSH, Prosecuting Attorney, and HEAVEN DIMARTINO,
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Appellee.
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
JULIE
A. SCHAFER, JUDGE.
{¶1}
Defendant-Appellant, Nathan Long, appeals the judgment of the
Summit County Court of Common Pleas sentencing him to a
mandatory 15-year term of imprisonment. We affirm.
I.
{¶2}
On May 4, 2015, the Summit County Grand Jury indicted Long on
six counts of rape in violation of R.C. 2907.02(A)(1)(b), a
first-degree felony, and three counts of gross sexual
imposition in violation of R.C. 2907.05(A)(4), a third-degree
felony. Long pleaded not guilty to all counts contained in
the indictment and the matter proceeded through the pretrial
process.
{¶3}
Following extensive plea negotiations with the State, Long
ultimately withdrew his not guilty pleas and pleaded guilty
to three counts of rape in violation of R.C.
2907.02(A)(1)(b), as amended to reflect that the perpetrator
was under 16 years of age and that the victims were under 13
years of age. The trial court accepted Long's guilty
pleas. In exchange for Long's guilty pleas, the trial
court dismissed the remaining counts in the indictment on the
State's recommendation. As part of the plea agreement,
which included an agreed sentence, the trial court sentenced
Long to a mandatory term of five-years in prison on each
count of rape to which he pleaded guilty, with those
sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 15
mandatory years in prison. The trial court also sentenced
Long to a mandatory term of five years post-release control
and ordered that he be adjudicated a Tier III sex offender.
{¶4}
Long subsequently filed a motion for leave to file a delayed
appeal, which this Court granted. Long raises two assignments
of error on appeal for this Court's review. To facilitate
our analysis, we elect to address both assignments of error
together.
II.
Assignment
of Error I
The
trial court erred in determining that a mandatory sentence
was required to be imposed on Appellant on the charges of
rape.
Assignment
of Error II
The
trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences by not
considering mitigating circumstances on Appellant's
behalf or stating ...