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.
Instead of arguing that his case was the same as Dixon's, Widner argued that a mandatory 10-year minimum sentence was unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously rejected that argument.
Widner's attorney, J. Scott Key of Sexton, Key & Hendrix in Stockbridge, Ga., called the result "tragic" given that a legislative change to go into effect Saturday will do away with the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence aspect of the aggravated child molestation statute as it relates to certain teen encounters.
Details here from the Fulton County Daily Report via Law.com.