WARREN Court must rule again in sex case

The judge did not state why he ordered consecutive prison sentences.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 62-year-old man convicted of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl will have to be resentenced.
In a 17-page ruling issued Monday, the 11th District Court of Appeals said Judge John Stuard of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court erred in the way he sentenced Robert Gibson, of Albright McKay Road, Brookfield, to prison.
The court ruling states that when imposing a nonminimum sentence or when ordering a defendant to serve consecutive sentences, the trial court must state the reasons at sentencing.
Gibson was sentenced to a two-year prison term on a charge of corruption of a minor and four years on a charge of sexual battery. Judge Stuard ordered the sentences to run consecutively.
"Nowhere in the record is there any indication as to why the trial court believed more than the minimum prison term was necessary or why consecutive sentences were appropriate in this case," the appellate court said.
Court ruling
The case goes back to Judge Stuard, who could not be reached.
A jury in February 2001 convicted Gibson of sexual battery and corruption of a minor.
Gibson was also declared a sexually oriented offender, requiring him to check in with authorities every 10 years after his release from prison.
The appellate court's ruling was written by Judge Judith A. Christley with Judges Donald Ford and Diane Grendell concurring.
sinkovich@vindy.com