Resentencing ordered in controversial child sodomy case that led to efforts to recall judge
A judge who sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for child sodomy should not have ignored the mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, a California appeals court has ruled.
In a decision on Tuesday, the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned the sentence imposed by Judge M. Marc Kelly and ordered the trial court to resentence the defendant to at least 25 years in prison, report the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times.
Kelly had found that imposing a 25-year sentence on the defendant, 19-year-old Kevin Jonas Rojano-Nieto, would amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the federal and state constitutions. His decision in April 2015 led to recall efforts.
Kelly said the teen didn’t intend to harm the 3-year-old girl who wandered into the garage where he was playing video games, and that he stopped sodomizing the girl almost immediately when he realized his act was wrong. “Although serious and despicable, this does not compare to a situation where a pedophilic child predator preys on an innocent child,” Kelly said.
The appeals court disagreed with Kelly’s conclusions, finding the 25-year minimum to be constitutionally permissible. The appeals court said Rojano committed “a grave and serious offense” and a sentence of 25 years to life “is not grossly disproportionate to the crime.”
