In a case that at first glance appears strikingly similar to that of former prep football star Marcus D. Dixon, the Supreme Court of Georgia handed down a very different result Monday, upholding the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence of a young man convicted of felony child molestation for having oral sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 18.
Where Dixon was able to successfully argue that the Georgia Legislature couldn’t have meant to impose a 10-year mandatory sentence for his sexual encounter with a 15-year-old schoolmate at age 18, the slightly greater age difference between Joshua Ray Widner and his young sexual partner limited the arguments that Widner could make on appeal.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]