Court Opinion

ID: 9522252
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:20:55.759237+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:02:27.288180
License: Public Domain

VAIDIK, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority's conclusion that Sanquenetti's advisory sentence of four years for Class C felony nonsupport of a dependent is inappropriate. According to the factual basis for Sanquenetti's guilty plea,
between the dates of April 9, 2004 and August 28, 2007 in Parke County, State of Indiana, [Sanquenetti]l knowingly or intentionally failled] to provide support for [her] dependent children, [L.S.F.], date of birth October 29, 1986, and [R.J.F.], December 27, 1984, and the amount of the unpaid support that is due and owing is more than 15,000.00.
May 26, 2009, Tr. p. 6. Following the trial court's imposition of the advisory sentence, Sanquenetti did not file a petition for post-conviction relief challenging her guilty plea; rather, she filed a direct appeal challenging her sentence. Nevertheless, the majority appears to be using Sanquenetti's sentencing challenge as a vehicle to correct what it perceives to be an injustice. That is, the majority has "serious concerns that there is no valid basis for Sanquenetti's class C felony conviction." Op. at 1291 n. 7. The majority believes that the amount of child support for the years 2005 through 2007 should not be included as a basis for Sanquenetti's criminal liability under Indiana Code section 35-46-1-5 because that section only imposes criminal liability for children under eighteen years of age, and Sanquenetti's children were eighteen years of age or older during this time frame. The majority opines that without child support from the years 2005 through 2007, the amount owed is not at least $15,000, which is what makes this crime a Class C felony. But this speculation, based on an incomplete record, ignores the clear language of Sanquenetti's factual basis, which provides that the amount of unpaid support due and owing is more than $15,000.
As the majority itself recognizes, when a defendant pleads guilty, she is precluded from challenging the factual basis for the guilty plea on direct appeal. Tumulty v. State, 666 N.E.2d 394, 395 (Ind.1996). As such, the correct forum for Sanquenetti to challenge her guilty plea is post-conviction, where a more thorough record can be de*1293veloped. Rather, our job in this direct appeal is to review the appropriateness of Sanquenetti's advisory sentence in light of the nature of the offense and her character.
As for the nature of the offense,9 as the trial court found, there is no evidence that the crime caused or threatened serious harm to anyone. Nonetheless, I believe that this crime per se evidences that hardship or sacrifice was suffered by the children or the custodial parent. Thus, I disagree with the majority's comment that there was no evidence of hardship shown in this case.
As for Sanquenetti's character, as the trial court pointed out, Sanquenetti has a history of criminal activity, including two convictions for Class D felony nonsupport of a dependent and a 1996 conviction for Class C felony battery. Appellant's App. p. 26. In addition, she "recently violated terms of a pretrial release." June 23, 2009, Tr. p. 5; see also Appellant's App. p. 26. Although it is true that Sanquenetti pled guilty to this offense and was working a part-time job in 2009 (though she was unemployed for the previous five years), I believe that these actions pale in comparison to her criminal activities. Therefore, I would find that Sanquenetti's advisory sentence of four years is not inappropriate.

. The majority concludes that although the State claims that Sanquenetti actually owes more than $30,000 in child support, this amount predates April 9, 2004. And because Sanqueneiti pled guilty on September 13, 2002, to two counts of Class D felony nonsupport of a dependent, "we may reasonably infer that Sanquenetti's class D felony convictions were based on some portion of the child support arrearage that accrued before April 9, 2004." Op. p. 1290. The majority continues, '"'Thus, for some portion of her pre-April 9, 2004 arrearage, Sanquenetti has been charged, convicted, and sentenced, and is currently serving her time. Accordingly, we do not think that justice would be served by considering Sanquenetti's total arrearage in assessing the nature of this offense." Id. at 1290. However, as the majority concedes, the record before us does not contain sufficient information about the cause number involving the Class D {felony convictions for nonsupport of a dependent to determine San-quenetti's child support arrearage or the period of nonsupport upon which those convictions are based.