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Judges and Judiciary,
Criminal

Oct. 30, 2017

Judge ready to reverse his lenient sentence delays after defender’s tears

A public defender’s briefly tearful argument prompted an Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday to postpone his re-sentencing of a convicted child molester whose original lenient sentence led to a recall campaign and appellate reversal.

After a rebuke from court of appeal, Orange County Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly said he will sentence teenaged molester to a term of 25 years to life, but first he wants to hear mitigating evidence.

NEWPORT BEACH -- A public defender's briefly tearful argument prompted an Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday to postpone his re-sentencing of a convicted child molester whose original lenient sentence led to a recall campaign and appellate reversal.

Though Judge M. Marc Kelly said he knows Kevin Rojano-Nieto must be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, he agreed with Deputy Public Defender Melani Bartholomew that new ca...

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