Court of appeals reverses decision on Brown County sex offender classification
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The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has reversed the decision of a Brown County trial court classifying a Felicity man as a Tier I sex offender.
According to a release from the court, in July 2009, Robert Meade pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after he engaged in sexual conduct with a 14-year-old female. As part of the plea agreement, the offense was decreased from a fourth-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor. Meade was sentenced and classified as a Tier I sex offender.
Meade passed away while his appeal was pending, and his mother was substituted as a party on his behalf. On appeal to the Twelfth District, Robert's mother argued that her son should not have been classified as a sex offender because an exception contained in Ohio's Adam Walsh Act exempted him from this classification.
In a unanimous decision, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson reversed the judgment of the trial court. Judge Hendrickson determined that the exception to sex offender classification may indeed apply to Meade's case because two out of the three requirements were met.
The record did not contain any evidence on the third requirement, that is, whether the victim consented to the sexual conduct. As a result, the appellate court sent the case back to the trial court for a hearing on the consent issue. Presiding Judge William W. Young and Judge H.J. Bressler concurred in the opinion. The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals reversed Meade's sex offender classification and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has reversed the decision of a Brown County trial court classifying a Felicity man as a Tier I sex offender.
According to a release from the court, in July 2009, Robert Meade pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after he engaged in sexual conduct with a 14-year-old female. As part of the plea agreement, the offense was decreased from a fourth-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor. Meade was sentenced and classified as a Tier I sex offender.
Meade passed away while his appeal was pending, and his mother was substituted as a party on his behalf. On appeal to the Twelfth District, Robert's mother argued that her son should not have been classified as a sex offender because an exception contained in Ohio's Adam Walsh Act exempted him from this classification.
In a unanimous decision, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson reversed the judgment of the trial court. Judge Hendrickson determined that the exception to sex offender classification may indeed apply to Meade's case because two out of the three requirements were met.
The record did not contain any evidence on the third requirement, that is, whether the victim consented to the sexual conduct. As a result, the appellate court sent the case back to the trial court for a hearing on the consent issue. Presiding Judge William W. Young and Judge H.J. Bressler concurred in the opinion. The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals reversed Meade's sex offender classification and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
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