By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A defendant whose sentence could have been as long as life in prison will be returning to Lewis County Superior Court to get a fixed-length term in prison.
The state Court of Appeals reversed the sentence of Brian W. Buckman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child, because he was under 18 at the time of the offense and state law excludes him from indeterminate sentencing.
In 2012, Buckman was given a prison term with a minimum of 86 to 114 months in prison and a maximum of life.
He appealed the court’s decision denying his motion to withdraw his plea and in the alternative appealed his sentence.
He was 17 years and 7 months old when he and a 13-year-old had sexual intercourse. His case was handled not in juvenile court, but in adult court, in Lewis County Superior Court.
The opinion from division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals was issued on Tuesday.
While the guilty plea form he signed set forth both the standard range and the maximum penalty, it also specified indeterminate sentencing applied if he was at least 18 years old, the justices wrote.
The trial court had denied his motion to withdraw the plea, arguing since he was beyond his 17th birthday at the time of the offense, he was not 17 years of age or younger.
The three-member panel of the Court of Appeals agreed with not allowing him to withdraw the plea affirming the conviction, but remanded the case for a determinate sentence.
Buckman was represented in his appeal by Centralia attorney Peter Tiller. Representing the state was Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Sara Beigh and Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher. Judge Nelson Hunt was the judge in the original case.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter