State v. Horseman

“ORS 137.690 imposes a mandatory minimum term of 25 years [300 months] for a person who has been convicted of more than one ‘major felony sex crime,’ a term that includes ‘the crime of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.’” State v. Carey-Martin, 293 Or App 611, 613 (2018).

Defendant appeals the 300-month prison terms imposed as a result of his conviction of five counts of Using a Child in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct, ORS 163.670. Defendant argued, under Article 1, section 16 of the Oregon Constitution, that the statutorily mandated 300-month prison term is unconstitutionally disproportionate as applied to the circumstances of this case. In response, the State argued that a 300-month prison term would not be unconstitutionally disproportionate asserting that the legislature was entitled to determine – and did determine, by classifying the conduct as a “major felony sex crime”- that inducing a child to perform sexual acts on display is “a form of exploitation and degradation separate and distinct from other forms of sexual abuse, with separate and distinct psychological harms.” “ORS 137.690 imposes a mandatory minimum term of 25 years [300 months] for a person who has been convicted of more than one ‘major felony sex crime,’ a term that includes ‘the crime of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.’” State v. Carey-Martin, 293 Or App 611, 613 (2018). The Court found the trial court did not err and held that once Defendant was convicted of the first count of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, the trial court was required to sentence defendant to 300-month terms of imprisonment on each of the four additional counts of that crime of which he had been convicted. Affirmed.