State v. Schalk

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 3392

Syllabus

Appellant was indicted on three counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition (GSI), all of which specified that the victim was under 13 years of age. Later, in furtherance of a plea agreement, a bill of information was filed which, with respect to the rapes only, omitted the element that the victim was under 13. Appellant entered guilty pleas pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), to the rape offenses as charged in the bill of information and to the GSI charge in the indictment. The trial court's plea colloquy complied with Crim.R. 11 and the requirements of Alford, and the evidence presented at the hearing clearly and unequivocally supported the trial court's finding that appellant entered an Alford plea based on a calculation to avoid the more onerous penalty of a life sentence, which he risked if he had proceeded to trial on the indicted offenses. Judgment affirmed.