Opinion ID: 2504769
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: State v. Daniels

Text: Appellant Steven Daniels (hereinafter Mr. Daniels) was originally charged by criminal complaint in magistrate court with forty-eight counts of third degree sexual assault (W.Va.Code § 61-8B-5) and for distribution of obscene material to a minor (W.Va.Code § 61-8A-4). As represented in the information contained in the record, Mr. Daniels was twenty years old when he engaged in sexual relations with a fourteen-year-old girl [4] which resulted in the minor becoming pregnant. On October 6, 2008, Mr. Daniels tendered guilty pleas to one count of third degree sexual assault and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. [5] Initially, Mr. Daniels was sent to Anthony Center and sentencing was held in abeyance until June 30, 2010. At the June 30 sentencing hearing, the lower court expressed reservations with the provisions of West Virginia Code § 62-12-26, but declined to find the statute unconstitutional. According to the July 20, 2010, sentencing order of the Circuit Court of Logan County, the sentence Mr. Daniels received for the sexual assault conviction was one to five years in prison [6] pursuant to West Virginia Code § 61-8B-5 (2000) followed by ten years of supervised release pursuant to West Virginia Code § 62-12-26. Mr. Daniels sought relief from this Court to prohibit enforcement of the supervised release portion of his sentence on the basis that the enhancement provisions of West Virginia Code § 62-12-26 are unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment. Although styled as a petition for writ of prohibition, the matter was granted for review by this Court as a direct appeal. Because of the mutual statutory concern raised in the petitions for review in these three cases, they were consolidated for appeal purposes.