Opinion
No. CR02-140525
March 28, 2006
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
The petitioner, Ron Sun, was convicted after a jury trial of three counts of Risk of Injury to a child in violation of Connecticut General Statutes (Rev. To 1997) § 53-21(2). The maximum penalty to which the defendant was exposed was thirty years. The court sentenced the defendant to a total effective sentence of ten years incarceration suspended after six and one-half years, followed by twenty years of probation.
The evidence presented at trial proved that the petitioner on three separate occasions molested the seven-year-old victim. The incidents included touching the victim, showing the victim pornographic videos and having the victim touch the petitioner's intimate parts. Further details of the incident are described in State v. Sun, 92 Conn.App. 618 (2005).
At a hearing before the Sentence Review Division the petitioner asked for a sentence reduction and pointed out that the petitioner had no prior record and that the incidents did not involve penetration.
Counsel for the State indicates that at the sentencing a fifteen-year period of incarceration had been requested by the State and the victim's mother asked that the maximum sentence be imposed.
Counsel for the State emphasized that the sentence imposed protected society, especially children and provided for close supervision of the petitioner when he is released from prison. The counsel for the State further noted that the petitioner had made no effort to address his problems and had taken advantage of the victim and her mother after they had placed their trust in him. Pursuant to Connecticut Practice Book § 43-23 et seq., the Sentence Review Division is limited in the scope of its review. The Division is to determine whether the sentence imposed "should be modified because it is inappropriate or disproportionate in light of the nature of the offense, the character of the offender, the protection of the public interest and the deterrent, rehabilitative, isolative and denunciatory purposes for which the sentence was intended."
The Division is without authority to modify a sentence except in accordance with the provisions of Connecticut Practice Book § 43-23 et seq., and Connecticut General Statutes § 51-194 et seq.
Incarceration of individuals who present a threat to the health and wellbeing of children is a legitimate goal of sentencing. The protection afforded to children when child molesters are placed in an environment free of those who might become victims cannot be ignored.
The sentence imposed clearly was designed to protect society, punish the offender, deter others who might consider engaging in this type of behavior and supervise and monitor the petitioner when he returns to society.
The sentence is neither inappropriate nor disproportionate.
The sentence is AFFIRMED.