https://www.thenews-messenger.com/story/news/local/2018/03/11/ohio-supreme-court-review-bellevue-obscenity-case/411477002/
Ohio Supreme Court to review Bellevue obscenity case
Daniel Carson, Reporter Published 10:45 a.m. ET March 11, 2018
TOLEDO - A legal issue raised by a Bellevue man convicted of pandering obscenity will be decided by the Ohio Supreme Court
In a decision issued Friday, the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals in Toledo also vacated the four-year prison sentence of Glen Gilbert, 76, of Bellevue, remanded his case to Sandusky County Common Pleas Court, and ordered the state to pay the costs of Gilbert's appeal.
The appeals court ruled that the common pleas court did not inform Gilbert of the residential restrictions for sexual offenders, as required in Ohio Revised Code 2950.034, rendering his guilty plea involuntary.
The appeals court noted that its decision conflicted with a decision on sexual offender residential restrictions and notifications made by the 8th District Court of Appeals in State v. Creed.
The court certified Gilbert's case for review and final determination by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Sandusky County Prosecutor Tim Braun said Friday that all appellate court districts have the different ability to create law.
When there are conflicting appellate decisions, it is up to the state supreme court to review and decide the matter, Braun said.
In Gilbert's case, the 6th District Court of Appeals ruled that defendants needed to be notified of sexual offender residential restrictions, he noted.
"These are all things they (defendants) want to be advised of during their plea," Braun said.
Gilbert originally faced four felony charges after police responded to an internet post seeking a sexual encounter with a teen girl.
Gilbert posted on the website Craigslist and believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl when Bellevue Police Detective Eric Burt responded to the man's request for a sexual encounter with a teen, according to police.
Gilbert pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one felony count of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
In a separate ruling on Friday, the Ohio 6th District appeals court denied an appeal involving Gage Villarreal, 20, of Gibsonburg.
The Sandusky County Common Pleas Court sentenced Villarreal to 18 months in prison in May on a telecommunications fraud charge after the man admitted he had been involved in an online banking scheme to take money from a credit union.
Villarreal appealed the trial court's decision.
The appeals court ruled that Villarreal's due process rights were not violated by the trial court and that the Sandusky County court did not err in imposing cost of confinement and court-appointed counsel on Villarreal.
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