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Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: BRUCE W. GRAHAM Graham Law Firm P.C. Lafayette, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana AARON J. SPOLARICH Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED
Jun 13 2012, 9:14 am

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
CHAD STEWART, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

No. 79A02-1110-CR-972

APPEAL FROM THE TIPPECANOE SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable Donald L. Daniel, Judge Cause No. 79C01-1008-FB-10

June 13, 2012

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

CRONE, Judge

Case Summary Chad Stewart appeals the sentence imposed by the trial court following his guilty plea to two counts of class B felony child molesting. The trial court sentenced Stewart to twelve years on each count, to be served concurrently, with one year suspended to probation, for a total executed sentence of eleven years. Stewart claims that his sentence is inappropriate and asks this Court to revise and reduce his sentence. Concluding that Stewart has not met his burden to show that his sentence is inappropriate, we decline his invitation for sentence revision and affirm. Facts and Procedural History In 1999, then-seventeen-year-old Stewart was neighbors with six-year-old A.D. and eight-year-old S.D. Stewart would sometimes babysit A.D. and S.D. and/or take A.D. and S.D. into the woods near their house. Between the months of May and December 1999, on more than one occasion, Stewart engaged in deviate sexual conduct with A.D. and S.D. This deviate sexual conduct involved the sex organ of one person and the mouth of another person. Stewart threatened to tie the young children to the railroad tracks that ran in front of their home if they were to tell anyone about these molestations. Consequently, the children did not report the molestations to an adult until a few months after the events occurred. Although Child Protective Services was contacted at the time, for unknown reasons, the case was either not investigated or was dismissed. Many years later, sixteen-year-old A.D. and eighteen-year-old S.D. reported Stewarts conduct to law enforcement.

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On August 26, 2010, the State charged Stewart with eight counts of class B felony child molesting.1 Stewart moved to dismiss the charges on June 2, 2011, alleging that the offenses were time-barred. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss on July 28, 2011. Then, on August 1, 2011, the State filed a motion to correct error arguing, among other things, that the legislature has provided an extended statute of limitations for certain class B felony sex offenses.2 The trial court granted the States motion on August 5, 2011. On August 18, 2011, Stewart entered into a plea agreement with the State. The agreement provided that Stewart would plead guilty to two counts of class B felony child molesting in exchange for dismissal of the six remaining counts. The agreement left sentencing to the trial courts discretion, except that the sentences imposed were to run concurrently. Following a sentencing hearing on September 30, 2011, the trial court sentenced Stewart to concurrent terms of twelve years on each count, with one year suspended. This appeal ensued. Discussion and Decision Stewart claims that the twelve-year sentence imposed by the trial court is inappropriate and he asks us to revise it. Article 7, Section 6 of the Indiana Constitution authorizes ",,independent appellate review and revision of a sentence imposed by the trial court." Light v. State, 926 N.E.2d 1122, 1124 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (quoting Anglemyer v.

Because Stewart was sixteen years of age or older when the crimes were committed, the trial court waived juvenile jurisdiction. Appellants App. at 41-42. While prosecution for a class B felony is generally barred unless commenced within five years after the commission of the offense, a prosecution for class B felony child molesting, Indiana Code Section 35-42-43(a), is barred unless commenced before the date that the alleged victim of the offense reaches thirty-one years of age. Ind. Code

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