A Bowling Green man sent to prison for sex crimes has lost an appeal.
Bryan Nelson, 39, was sentenced in September 2021 to 6 1/2 years for three charges of gross sexual imposition.
The sentences of 18 months, 12 months and 48 months for the three charges shall be served consecutively, ruled Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.
Nelson filed an appeal with the 6th District Court of Appeals two days after being sentenced.
In his appeal, he claimed Kuhlman erred in imposing consecutive sentences as that action was not supported by Ohio Revised Code.
ORC states multiple prison terms can be imposed for convictions of multiple offenses and if the court finds that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime or to punish the offender.
Also considered is whether consecutive sentences are not disproportionate to the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct and the danger he poses to the public; and whether the offender either committed the offenses while on post-release control, at least two of the multiple offenses were committed as part of one or more courses of conduct, or the offender’s history of criminal conduct demonstrates that consecutive sentences are necessary to protect the public from future crime by the offender.
The appeals court determined that Kuhlman had analyzed whether consecutive sentences were appropriate. The judge also noted the extent of the injuries that Nelson inflicted on the victims, who he knew.
Nelson argued that there was no evidence regarding the level of psychological harm suffered by the victims and claimed the harm inflicted on the children was “not any greater or more unusual than the psychological harm inherently suffered by all victims of these serious offenses.”
An investigation was started after one child ran away to avoid further abuse.
The appeals court filed its judgment Friday, stating that Nelson’s claim of error had no merit.
He had been indicted in June 2021 for four counts gross sexual imposition, all third-degree felonies; and one count GSI, a fourth-degree felony.
Between October 2011 and October 2020, Nelson had sexual contact with three different children, ages 14, 12 and 8 at the time of the offenses.
Two of the third-degree felony charges were dismissed at sentencing.
Nelson, who remains incarcerated in the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, must register as a Tier II sex offender upon his release. He must register twice a year for 25 years.
