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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: DUSTIN HOUCHIN Houchin Law Office, P.C. Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: STEVE CARTER Attorney General of Indiana ANN L. GOODWIN Special Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
CHARLES G. PARSONS, Appellant-Defendant, vs. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee-Plaintiff. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 88A01-0606-CR-259

APPEAL FROM THE WASHINGTON CIRCUIT COURT The Honorable Robert Bennett, Judge Cause No. 88C01-9801-CF-4

September 25, 2007

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

CRONE, Judge

Case Summary Charles Parsons appeals his forty-year sentence for class A felony child molesting. We affirm. Issue Parsons questions whether the trial court properly sentenced him. Facts and Procedural History Between October 21, 1995, and October 21, 1996, thirty-nine-year-old Parsons had his ten-year-old stepdaughter, A.S., place her mouth on his penis, fondled A.S., had A.S. fondle him, and masturbated in front of A.S. 1 A.S.'s mother sometimes participated with Parsons in the abuse of her daughter. In fact, Parsons claimed that A.S.'s mother had encouraged him to perform sexual acts with and in front of A.S. Eventually, A.S. reported the abuse to a school counselor. On January 5, 1998, the State charged Parsons with class A felony child molesting, two counts of class C felony child molesting, class D felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and class D felony neglect of a dependent. On January 29, 1998, Parsons pled guilty to all charges. Parsons's plea agreement contained no recommendation to the trial court regarding sentencing. Prior to sentencing, the trial court ordered a psychological evaluation of Parsons. A clinical neuropsychologist concluded that Parsons had "an extensive history of manic depressive illness" and that he would "clearly require consistent psychopharmacologic

For purposes of his pre-sentence investigation report, Parsons stated that he had married A.S.'s mother on October 21, 1995. Apparently, that marriage was not legal, however, and the couple was actually married in 1998.

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treatment on a permanent basis." Appellant's App. at 3. The evaluator also expressed his concern that "should [Parsons] not ultimately be incarcerated he may, as has been the case previously, rely excessively if not exclusively on divine intervention, and thereby discontinue pharmacotherapy, the ultimate effects of which will certainly put himself, and possibly others, at considerable risk." Id. On May 19, 1998, the trial court held a sentencing hearing. At the hearing, Parsons testified that he had committed the offenses after he discontinued his medication for manic depression and began abusing alcohol. The trial court sentenced Parsons to forty years for class A felony child molesting, four years for each of the two class C felony child molesting convictions, one and one-half years for class D felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors, and one and one-half years for class D felony neglect of a dependent. The court ordered all of the sentences to run concurrently. Parsons now belatedly appeals his fortyyear sentence for class A felony child molesting. Discussion and Decision A. Consideration of Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances At the time of Parsons's sentencing, the sentencing statute for class A felonies read in relevant part as follows: "A person who commits a Class A felony shall be imprisoned for a fixed term of thirty (30) years, with not more than twenty (20) years added for aggravating circumstances or not more than ten (10) years subtracted for mitigating circumstances[.]" Ind. Code

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