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No. 133474
| The People of the State of Michigan, |
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Douglas E. Ketchum |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Allegan - Beach, H.) |
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| Dennis Mervyn Sargent, |
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John D. Roach, Jr. |
| Defendant-Appellant. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
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Background
Dennis Sargent was charged as a second habitual offender for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl; the charges against him included one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. The victim testified at trial; the prosecutor called two other witnesses, who testified that Sargent also abused them. Sargent testified at trial and denied committing the alleged acts. After deliberating for two hours, the jury convicted Sargent as charged. At sentencing, the trial judge ruled on Sargent’s objections to the manner in which the statutory offense variables were scored. The score of OV 9 depends on the number of victims, which was defined at the time as “each person who was placed in danger of injury or loss of life.” MCL 777.39(2)(a). Sargent argued that OV 9 should be scored at zero because there was “just one victim.” But the trial court determined that OV 9 should be scored at 10 points because, when the testimony of the two other witnesses was considered, there were two to nine victims. With OV 9 scored at 10 points, the sentencing guidelines provided that Sargent’s minimum sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct could range from 108 to 180 months. If OV 9 had been scored at zero, the sentencing guidelines would have called for a minimum sentence of 81 to 135 months. The trial court sentenced Sargent to 180 months (or 15 years) to 44 years for the first-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction, the maximum sentence available under the guidelines. Sargent was sentenced to five years, 11 months to 15 years for the second-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction. The Court of Appeals affirmed Sargent’s convictions and sentences in an unpublished opinion, concluding that the evidence adequately supported the trial court’s scoring of OV 9. Sargent appeals.
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