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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: JEFFREY L. SANFORD South Bend, Indiana

FILED
Apr 27 2010, 9:08 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: GREGORY F. ZOELLER Attorney General of Indiana MELLISICA K. FLIPPEN Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

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

No. 71A03-0909-CR-406

APPEAL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH SUPERIOR COURT The Honorable J. Jerome Frese, Judge Cause No. 71D03-9809-CF-411

April 27, 2010

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

BROWN, Judge

Vernell Brock appeals his sentence for child molesting as a class B felony. 1 Brock raises one issue, which we revise and restate as: I. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Brock; and Whether Brock's sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender.

II.

We affirm. The relevant facts follow. Between July 1, 1996 and August 31, 1997, Brock, who was twenty-six years old at the time, had "a repeated relationship" with M.B., a child of twelve or thirteen and who was in the seventh grade for most of the time period. Sentencing Transcript at 16. Brock and M.B. "had sexual relationships probably fifteen to twenty times." Id. M.B. became pregnant and gave birth to a child on March 30, 1998, as a result of her relationship with Brock. On September 9, 1998, the State charged Brock with child molesting as a class A felony. Brock initially appeared on May 12, 2004, and entered a plea of not guilty. On December 20, 2005, the State and Brock entered into a plea agreement in which Brock agreed to plead guilty to child molesting as a class A felony and the State agreed that "any executed sentence shall not exceed twenty (20) years." Appellant's Appendix at 32. The trial court took the plea agreement under advisement and ordered a presentence investigation report.

Ind. Code

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